Can't lose you
by DagnyLarkin
Summary: Sam and Andy get stuck in the basement of an abandoned building after Andy gets seriously injured. Set about six months after Andy's break up with Luke.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

**The following story takes place about six months after Andy breaks up with Luke; after that it doesn't follow the show's storyline anymore, but I might incorporate stuff from the new episodes if there's something that just fits into the story. I used the idea of Peck and Diaz locked in an abandoned building from S01E13 – only that it's now Sam and Andy that find themselves in the situation.**

**Author's note #2: This is my first fanfic – I hope you enjoy, reviews highly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Rookie Blue**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Peck, you're with Epstein; Diaz with Williams; Shaw with Nash, McNally you're with Swarek. You all know your assignments. Serve, protect, and get those guys off the streets before they blow up the rest of the city." Best finished his speech, folded his briefing papers and left the room while the officers paired up, talking about the day that lay ahead of them.

Andy was tense, just like the rest of her colleagues. No one took the events of the past two weeks lightly. They all knew that they had to find whoever was behind the attacks on the Muslim community and that they had to do it fast, before even more people got killed in the crusade of those maniacs. Andy looked over at Dov, who was standing with Chris at the other end of the room, chatting to his friend. He hadn't seen Sue since the first attack twelve days ago because the bomb squad had been on red alert ever since. Somehow he didn't seem to mind so much though. Andy started to wonder how serious they were but got interrupted by her partner before she could finish the thought.

"You ready McNally?," Sam asked as he walked by her towards the exit of the parade room. He too sounded more serious than usual (if that was even possible) but other than that he seemed in a good mood.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Andy replied, quickly following him outside.

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><p>They got into their squad car, Sam naturally entering on the left side of the vehicle, making Andy ride shotgun. He started the engine, looked into the back mirror, reversed and drove out of 15th division's parking lot, while Andy went through a list of addresses Best had given to them during parade. Every team had gotten one and like all the others Sam and Andy were to check out all the locations on their list, which mostly consisted of empty buildings and old warehouses, looking for their suspects and anything suspicious that could be related to the latest attacks. The officers of 15th by far weren't the only ones out there looking for the bomber. The Mounted police unit, the bomb squad, the Emergency Task Force as well as all the other precincts in town were working 247 to find him and put an end to the senseless killings. An intelligence force had also been put together in a hurry to gather information about the perpetrator and his next target. Sam and Andy knew that their assignment would most likely mean a long and boring day of walking through dark and dusty hallways, probably stumbling over a couple of homeless people and addicts, without turning up anything useful. But it was work that had to be done.

"What's our first destination?," Sam asked without taking his eyes off the street.

"Erm … it's Arrow Road 74," Andy read, "a factory that's been shut down couple of years ago and is still empty."

"Arrow Road it is," Sam said and turned on the turn indicator before taking the next street on the right.

"I didn't see you at the Penny last night", Sam remarked a few minutes later, trying to sound casual. Making small talk somehow wasn't easy when it came to his ex-rookie.

"I stayed at home and enjoyed the comfort of my new sofa," Andy answered with a smile.

"Ah, so you're finally settled in to your new apartment? Took you only six months," he said sarcastically.

"Well, completely furnishing a new apartment isn't that easy with a rookie salary. But the sofa was the last piece, and it was well worth waiting until I had the money together. It's huge and super soft and actually a lot more comfortable than that cheap bed I bought right after I moved in," she said, defending her newest purchase which had cost her a fortune.

"Shame. A good bed is very important. But I guess we'll just go to my place then," Sam said with a dimpled grin, glancing over to catch Andy's reaction.

"That's it," Andy said.

"What?" That wasn't the annoyed come back Sam had expected. "Seriously?"

"No, I mean we're there. That's the factory." She pointed to a huge gray building on the left side of the empty street.

"Oh. Right." Sam pulled over and turned off the engine.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Four hours later Sam and Andy got back into their squad car, crossing the sixth address on their list out.

"Uff, my feet hurt," Andy complained and lay back in her seat.

"Yepp, that's normal. After more than a year on the force you should know that police work is ten percent action and eighty percent walking," Sam answered with a smirk.

"What are the other ten percent?," Andy asked confused after she had done the math.

"Hm?"

"The other ten percent?"

"Oh," Sam said, "standing in the queue at the coffee shop."

Andy gave him a small smile. That wasn't even too far away from the truth. "Actually, I could really use a coffee right about now."

Sam thought for a moment. "What's our next address?"

"Erm," Andy rubbed her eyes and unfolded the papers that had been lying in her lap with a tired sigh. "It's Fenmar Drive 110. An old school building," she finally read, putting the papers back down.

"That's just around the corner. Let's check this place out and then go for lunch and coffee, sound good?"

It didn't, not really. Andy could have used a break right now and the thought of another hour spent in an empty building, with rats crossing her way and spider webs getting caught in her hair didn't sound very tempting.

"Can we just get a quick coffee first?," she asked with a wink and a sweet smile, trying to use her charm to induce him.

Sam looked at his partner and grinned, recognizing her plan. "Look, it's really just a minute away and the next coffee shop I know is at least eight blocks from here. We'll make it quick, OK?"

"Alright," Andy sighed, giving in.

Sam turned left into Fenmar Drive and immediately saw the school building they were looking for. It looked abandoned and shabby, most of its windows on the first floor thrown in, the place in front of the entrance littered with beer cans, empty cigarette packs and all kinds of rubbish, the red brick walls covered in graffiti.

"Told you it was just around the corner," Sam said and got out of the car.

Andy followed a second later, stretching her legs and moving her shoulders circularly, trying to loosen up a hardening between her shoulder blades that had formed the previous night.

"Looks like your new sofa wasn't so comfortable after all," Sam observed.

"It's just a little soft. I have to get used to it," Andy said defensive. He was right, the sofa looked a lot better than it felt to lie on it, but she sure as hell wasn't going to admit that.

"Right," Sam said, walking around the front of the car and stopping next to his partner. "OK, let's do this. Try to focus, stay sharp and alert. Do you want to take the second floor?"

"No, it's my turn with the basement", Andy said with a sigh. "You took the last two."

"You sure?" Sam didn't mind taking the basements, even if it meant crossing paths with a couple of rats. He preferred Andy to stay away from the dark underground locations, knowing that those places were more likely to be used as hiding places for people who really didn't want to be found.

"We said we'd take turns. It's fine," Andy assured him.

Sam nodded reluctantly. "Alright then, I'll check out upstairs, you make a quick sweep through the basement and we meet back on the first floor to do the rest together," he said and they walked towards the entrance.

They entered the building through the glassy doors at the front, which were still locked but had been smashed in.

"Careful with the shards," Sam warned as they squeezed through the opening. They got through in one piece and turned on their flashlights as they stepped into the entrance hall.

"I'll see you in ten," Sam said, keeping his voice low, just in case. "Be careful."

Andy nodded. "You too."

They split up at the stairs, Sam walking up the broad staircase to the second floor and Andy taking the slender one which led to the basement. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she stopped for a second and breathed in deeply. Sam was right, she had to stay alert. Anything and anyone could be squatting in a place like this – runaways, junkies, even violent criminals looking for a hideout. She blocked out the pain in her back and the anger about her new sofa that wasn't worth its money and focused on the job ahead. The flashlight in her right, she made her way through an iron door who's lock had been forced open and followed the dark corridor behind it. She passed doors on both sides of the hall and tried opening everyone of them. Some of them were locked and those she left alone, sometimes peeking inside the rooms when there was a window in the door. She quietly opened every unlocked door and stepped inside the rooms – storage rooms mostly, a boiler room, and a small one that looked like it had once been used as some kind of office, probably the janitors. She found nothing interesting, nothing except the expected spider webs, more graffiti on the walls, some broken chairs and garbage on the floor. After some time she reached the end of the hall and looked down another corridor, which branched off to the left.

There was a light. It came through under a door on the right side at the end of the hall, spreading only a small glimmer at the floor in front of it, but there was definitely light in the room behind. The power for this place had been turned off years ago, when the school closed down, so whoever was squatting there had to have brought his own generator or at least some kind of battery. Andy immediately turned off her own flashlight to avoid being noticed and took her radio, pressing the button to speak.

"Sam, I think I've got something in the basement," she said, waiting for a reply but there was none. She tried again, waiting impatiently for an answer but still there was only static where Sam's voice should have been. She rolled her eyes, annoyed about the situation. She put the radio back on its place on the left side of her chest, took out her cell phone and checked the display. No signal. Suddenly there was a noise, coming from the far end of the corridor. There was definitely someone there. Andy thought for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Finally she put her cell away and instead took out her Glock, looked back down the way she had come from to check for Sam and ensure that if not him, at least no one else was behind her. Satisfied that she was alone she cautiously moved toward the light.

The gun raised and pointing in whichever direction she currently looked, she followed the hallway until she was only a few feet away from the door. She stopped and hesitated for a moment, feeling her heart beating fast and the blood echoing in her ears. She took another step, when suddenly a voice called from behind the door.

"Alan, I got it!," a man shouted.

Andy realized what this meant but it was too late. As she spun around a second man was already behind her. _That must be Alan then, crap!_, she thought, her heart missing a beat. How could she not have heard him approach? He grabbed her gun with an iron grip and tried to wring it out of her hands. Andy struggled to hold on to her weapon, adrenaline rushing through her body. Alerted by the commotion the man inside the lit room opened the door and stepped into the hallway behind Andy, just as she lost the grip on her gun and her balance along with it. The man that was called Alan dropped the gun and used the moment to pull out a switchblade he carried in a little holster on his belt. He rammed the knife into Andy's lower abdomen, right under her west, the impact pushing her backwards into the arms of his companion. Andy felt the sharp pain in her stomach but couldn't scream. No sound came out as she opened her mouth, the air stuck in her lungs. Panic filled her and left her unable to form a single clear thought. The blade sliced back out of her body after a few seconds, slicing through flesh and skin as the man drew back his hand, covering her mouth with the other one. The two men looked over Andy's head and into each other's eyes, their faces emotionless. Andy's heart was pounding in her chest, all strength seemed to have drained from her arms. When she looked up she noticed the cold expression and businesslike nod of the man who had just stabbed her and realized that he was a professional. He seemed neither surprised nor shocked about what had just happened and he certainly didn't seem nervous about stabbing a police officer. She was shaking now, cold sweat running down her forehead. _Could those two be the ones they had been looking for?,_ she wondered when another thought crossed her mind. _Oh God, Sam's gonna be pissed when he finds me... _

"Why didn't you just shoot her?," the man that was holding her from behind asked factually.

"Because they never come alone. There is a second one somewhere."

Andy couldn't see the other man but guessed that he was nodding behind her. _Shit. So much for Sam's surprise entrance._

"In there, quickly," Alan said, tilting his head to the left in the direction of an iron door.

The other man followed the order without hesitation, opened the door and shoved Andy through it with a push that made her fall flat on the ground. She moaned with the impact that ran through her wrists as she tried to catch her fall. She rolled onto her side, looking up at the two men who had stayed in front of the door. Instinctively she put her right hand on the wound on her abdomen. She felt her own warm blood flow out of her and wet the fabric of her uniform. Unable to speak she lay on the ground, her mouth dry, her whole body shaking.

"What do we do with the other one?"

Alan thought for a moment. "Take the girl's phone and radio, then tie her up and gag her. Let them come to us."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sam checked his watch as he made his way back down the stairs to the first floor. He had been longer than expected due to the big number of classrooms that were located on the second floor. From the stairs he already looked through the entrance hall, scanning it for Andy, frowning as he noticed that it was empty. He called her name once, just to make sure that she wasn't sitting somewhere on the floor behind a corner, resting her tired legs. There was no answer.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself. _Had she just taken off to search the first floor alone? No, she wouldn't have done that._ Something was wrong, he knew, and as he thought that his heart started beating faster in his chest, a shiver running down his spine. The thought of something happening to Andy always had that effect on him. She had gotten herself in serious trouble before and just like now, he always had to fight the urge to let panic take over. But he had to stay professional. He sped up his pace, taking two steps at a time, hurrying into the basement with his gun already raised.

As he came to the bottom of the stairs he stopped shortly, peeking down the dark hallway. There was nothing to be seen, nothing to be heard. He thought about calling for back up but quickly decided against it when he considered the thick red brick walls and iron doors that surrounded him. He had already tried to call his rookie when he was still on the second floor, being bored with the task and planning to make a joke to cheer her up, like he had done so many times before since she and Luke had broken up. But the radio hadn't worked and when he had checked his cell phone there hadn't been a signal either. He knew there was almost no chance that he would have a signal down here. And besides, if Andy was really in trouble, the time it would take him to go back upstairs and outside so he could get through to dispatch might be time Andy didn't have.

He hasted towards the end of the hallway, cautiously looking behind every door and window he passed on the way. When he came close to the corner he slowed down to reduce the noise, then stopped completely for a brief second before peering into the other corridor with his gun pointed in the same direction. The hall was empty but he could see a light on the far end, coming through an open door on the left. He stared into the dimly lit corridor, listening for a sound. There was a squeak, muffled and low, but the walls echoed the sound, carrying it forward. Then another one.

_Andy. It had to be her._ And when someone made that kind of sound, Sam knew it was never a good sign. He felt fear rising within him, cutting off his breath and making the hair on his arms and neck rise. _Why had he sent her into the basement?_, he wondered angrily. _Why had he let her go alone at all? They could have just gone together…_

He blocked out his thoughts as well as he could and stepped around the corner, ready to shoot at whatever might jump up at him, then progressed further down the hall, carefully checking every dark corner and door on his way. When he finally reached the open door where the light was coming from and looked inside, his heart, which had been pounding like a machine gun during the last minutes, missed a beat. Andy was on the floor, her legs spread out, her hands tied to some kind of rusty pipe behind her, struggling with the rope that held them in place. When she saw Sam in the door she stopped abruptly, her eyes grew big and she frantically shook her head. Sam understood the gesture, but it was too late. There was a dull thump when the wooden plank hit him between the shoulder blades and another one when he hit the floor. Andy let out a muffled scream when she saw her partner fall to the ground, his fingers loosing the grip on his gun, sending it slithering across the floor. Sam didn't lose consciousness but was unable to breath or move for some seconds, which Alan used to free him from his cell phone and radio, before throwing the door close and locking it from the outside.

Sam coughed and groaned as he caught his breath again. _The blow hadn't been too forceful, just enough to knock him off his feet and cause him a sore back for a couple of days_, he assessed as he laboriously got to his knees and finally his feet.

Outside Alan and his partner started carrying their equipment out of the room they had been occupying for the past four weeks, getting ready to leave it forever.

"We should have killed them."

"No," Alan disagreed.

"They saw our faces."

"They are not the enemy," Alan said. "We're not gonna start killing our own people just because they happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It doesn't matter anyway, you know that. Tonight we'll finish the job, there's no way those two are gonna stop us now. We're sending a message, that's what counts, not what happens to us afterwards."

The other man thought for a moment. "Then why did you stab the girl at all?"

Alan stopped what he was doing and looked up at his partner. "Because I felt like sticking something into her," he said with a covetous grin, showing emotions for the first time since they had started working together.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sam ignored the pain in his back and hurried over to his partner. He freed her from the gag first, then started untying the rope. He was almost done when he noticed the blood on her hands.

As soon as Andy felt the rope around her loosen enough, she pulled her hands out and gladly brought them in front of her chest, rubbing her sore wrists. Sam looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Where does the blood come from?," he asked, searching her body for a wound. The lamp, which Alan had transferred from their room at the opposite side of the hall to this in order to draw Sam's attention was still on, but lit the room only dimly, making it hard for Sam to see the black stain on Andy's uniform.

"I don't think it's very bad," Andy said, not knowing who she was trying to convince. She touched the place where her abdomen was sliced open to show Sam the wound.

Sam got up and fetched the lamp before carefully pulling up Andy's uniform top and shirt to get a better look. He swallowed. There was already too much blood.

"I'm so sorry Sam. They grabbed my gun and before I knew what was happening one of them got me with his knife and I just …"

Sam cut her off in mid-sentence. "Don't apologize, McNally, this isn't your fault and you're gonna be fine, OK?" He looked up from her wound and into her eyes, his face serious. He didn't look away until Andy reluctantly gave him a slight nod, then he went back to her wound. He pondered about what to do for a moment, then took off his police jacket and his west.

"What are you doing?," Andy asked as she watched him undress in a hurry.

"We need some kind of clothing to press on the gash, preferably cotton," he explained while unbuttoning the top of his uniform. "So unless you want to strip for me," he took off the black t-shirt he wore underneath the uniform, "we're gonna use this." His upper body was naked now as he folded his shirt three times and then pressed it onto the gash.

"Aaah … Jesus," Andy shouted, tears filling her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts, but we need to apply pressure to keep the gash as tightly closed as possible," he said and gave her a sympathetic look. He put Andy's hand on top of the improvised bandage. "Can you hold it like this and keep up the pressure?"

Andy tried her best to breathe through the pain and keep the tears at bay. She nodded.

"Good. Just breathe and try to relax. When you're nervous your heart races and pumps your blood faster and we don't want that. So stay calm, alright? You're gonna be OK." Sam got up and quickly put his uniform back on but left his west and jacket on the floor next to Andy. He grabbed his gun, which had come to a halt at the opposite wall and put it back in its holster. He tried the door, knowing it was locked, but did it anyway. He jounced the doorknob fiercely but it was no use. He took a step back and looked at the door as a whole. Andy watched him and winced as he brought his right shoulder forward and smashed it hard against the door. There was a loud thump, but the door didn't move. Sam tried again, then a third time.

"Sam! It's a locked iron door, the only thing you're gonna achieve is to break your shoulder!," Andy shouted. She desperately wanted to get out of this room, but she surely didn't want to watch Sam injuring himself, especially not for such a futile operation.

Sam stopped what he was doing and rubbed his shoulder, breathing heavily. He didn't look back at her, but searched the room for another way out. There were no windows. No second door. The walls were made of bare bricks, the floor of cement. There was a steal grid at the opposite wall. _An air vent_, Sam thought and immediately ran over to it. Andy followed him with her eyes, feeling a glimpse of hope arise within her. With his knife he unscrewed one bolt after the other until the grid finally fell off the wall. But the hole it revealed wasn't even big enough to fit a child through. Andy could see that from where she was sitting, but Sam didn't seem to notice. He used his knife to try and take out the ventilator, which was fixed on the inside of the hole.

"Sam," Andy sighed, "it's no use, don't you see? Even if you get that thing out, we're never gonna be able to squeeze through that hole and you're not gonna find a working phone at the other side of the wall either …"

Sam didn't pay attention to his partner's words. He could hear her alright, knew that she was correct, but couldn't admit it. He couldn't just give up, sit down and wait for someone to notice that they were missing. That could take a long time, especially with everyone being so busy trying to find the bomber. He looked back over his shoulder, at the girl that was sitting behind him on the floor with a gash in her abdomen, slowly bleeding out. He was no medic, couldn't tell how serious it really was, but he had seen enough people getting stabbed or shot to know that it was serious enough. Deadly, if they couldn't get her to a hospital soon. He couldn't let that happen.

_She had just started living again_, he thought as he jounced and jerked at the rusty vent. Unable to protect her he had had to watch her get hurt by that jackass Callaghan, who had cheated on her with his ex while they were still engaged. The thought still made him clench his fists and want to punch the lights out of the guy. But it hadn't been his place to do so. He was Andy's partner and … friend … nothing more, even if every fiber in his body had longed to touch her, protect her and comfort her.

Andy looked away from Sam and exhaled audibly as she saw the black wetness soaking through the fabric on her abdomen. The pain was getting worse with every minute. _It's the adrenalin_, she told herself. _The adrenalin is gone, that's why it's starting to hurt. That's normal._ She was starting to get cold, too, and wondered whether that was normal as well. _Is it cold in here?_ She couldn't tell. Maybe it was just the cold floor she was sitting on. Or had she really lost that much blood already? She peered down again and examined her hands. They were both covered in a thick coating of blood. Sam's shirt was almost soaked through. She closed her eyes and tried to block the images out. Suddenly she felt extremely lonely. She hadn't felt like that in a while now, not since she had found out that Luke had cheated on her with Jo. She had felt betrayed then, angry, humiliated and disappointed. And lonely. But actually, now that she thought back, it hadn't been quite as bad as it could have been. It definitely hadn't felt good, but somehow … wasn't it supposed to feel worse than this, when someone you really love cheats on you? She looked back at Sam, who was pulling on that vent in the wall with all his strength and suddenly she couldn't help but wonder how she would have felt if it had been him. If it had been him all along, not Luke. But then, would he ever have done something like that to her?

She actually didn't know much about his private life, had never seen him in a relationship. But he'd always been there for her. Always, no matter what. She thought back on the night of the blackout, when she had had to shoot a man for the first time in her life. Sam had been there for her then, in the locker room after her shift. He had looked into her eyes and somehow known exactly how she had felt, had seen right through her "I'm fines". He always did. The memories of what happened afterwards that night came back to her and she felt a prickle inside her stomach when she remembered how they had kissed. It had been intense, confusing and overwhelming almost. But mostly what she had felt was safety. She had felt safe in his arms, like nothing could possibly hurt her as long as he was around. She realized that she always felt that way when he was there, no matter if they were on or off duty. Luke had never given her that feeling, although he had been supposed to be the "safe choice". Even now, the fact that Sam was here with her gave her comfort and calmed her down somewhat.

She opened her eyes and looked left to her former training officer, who was still working on a way out of this, trying to save them both, cursing and sweating. There had been this moment in the parking lot, during her first week on the job, when they had almost kissed. And then there was the night she had come over to his house and just done it. He hadn't rejected her then, she knew. He certainly wasn't repulsed by her, that was for sure. But during her time with Luke, he had never been anything but supportive for their relationship. Even after they broke up he had never made a move to get closer to her again. He had acted like a real friend. Did he want more from her than friendship? She wasn't sure. There were moments when she thought he did, when they looked into each other's eyes, just a little longer than was normal, and he had this expression on his face, this intense look in his eyes … but did that mean that he wanted her to be more than just his partner? She just wasn't sure.

Suddenly she felt dizzy and it had nothing to do with her mental confusion. She was starting to feel sick as well. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, trying to calm down her nervously beating heart.

Finally Sam gave up on the ventilator. It really was no use, but he had had to try it. He took a step backwards and bend over, propping himself on his knees, exhausted. When he got back up and turned around to face Andy, he froze. She wasn't moving, her eyes were closed.

"Andy?," he said, hearing his voice break.

Andy opened her eyes and looked up at her senior officer, who all of a sudden looked even paler than usual. Sam let out the air he had held in his lungs for several seconds now and took a few steps toward her, trying to regain his composure. "How are you feeling McNally?"

He could imagine how she felt. Could almost see it as he got closer. All color had drained from her face, her lips were almost blue.

"I'm OK," Andy said, her voice betraying her words. She noticed the tremble in it herself and smiled quickly so that he wouldn't notice how bad it really was. "Just a bit dizzy," she added.

Sam nodded, knowing that she was lying, trying to be brave for whatever reason, like she always did. He really wished she wouldn't do that. It almost broke his heart.

_How could this __happen?,_ he asked himself over and over again. _How could I let this happen to her?_

"You know what I just remembered?," Andy asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"No, what?"

"Chris." She smiled weakly. "Chris and Gail got stuck in the exact same situation last year, remember?"

Sam nodded, he knew how the story had ended for Chris. He smiled back at her without feeling any more hopeful than he had before, but hoping that it made Andy feel better.

"It's almost embarrassing. I bet they're gonna make fun of us when we get out … for being so unoriginal."

Sam tried to respond, to say something funny, but he couldn't. He just smiled at her, swallowed a knot that had appeared in his throat and asked her to cover her ears for a second.

"What for?," Andy asked perplexed.

"I'm gonna shoot at the lock," he explained.

She wanted to protest, but didn't feel strong enough to argue with him. He wouldn't listen to her anyway. She just nodded and prepared herself for the noise that would follow. Sam took his Glock out of its holster and stepped between Andy and the door to make sure that she wouldn't get hit in case the bullets would bounce back. There was no other way out of this room, the door was their only option. Then he shot at the lock, one, two, three times. BANG – BANG – BANG the shots rang out, hitting the door with a metallic noise. When it was over Andy slowly opened her eyes and looked up to see Sam running to the door, examining the lock. He had hit the mark alright, but the effect was almost invisible. Anger rose within him as he had to admit that this last chance of getting out had been futile as well. He put the gun back where it belonged, was silent for a moment, then started alternately kicking and banging against the iron door, swearing and shouting out for help to whoever might hear them.

"Sam!," Andy shouted, trying to predominate the noise he was making but failing. "Sam! Stop it! Please …"

He banged against the door one more time, then stopped, out of breath. Sweat was trickling down his forehead and neck, his whole body ached and his knees were weak. A tear of frustration and helplessness ran down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve, swallowed hard and slowly turned around to face the girl behind him. The girl that gave him a reason to get up in the morning. The girl he knew he couldn't save. There was nothing he could do but sit down and watch her bleed out. The only one who could save them now was whoever was keeping track of the squad cars in the precinct, who could send them help as soon as they noticed that they hadn't checked in when they should have. He looked at his watch. Quarter past noon. They were supposed to check in every hour, the last time being at twelve.

Andy read his mind, knew what he was thinking. She was thinking the same. There wasn't much time left. The pain wasn't as bad anymore, but that wasn't a good sign, she guessed. Nor was the weakness that had overcome her, or the nausea. The bleeding hadn't stopped, probably hadn't even slowed down, she couldn't tell exactly. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to end as well as it had for Chris about a year ago.

"I'm cold," she admitted suddenly, surprised at her confession. But she was glad she had said it. She wanted nothing more than for him to come over to her, to hold her in his arms.

Sam slowly walked over to his ex-rookie and knelt down beside her. He looked into her eyes, which now had dark circles under them. She looked back at him and saw the desperate expression on his face.

"Come on," he said in a soft voice, taking her gently by the shoulders.

She moaned in pain as he cautiously slid between her and the pipe she had been leaning on, slowly pulling her back against his chest, letting her head rest on his left shoulder. The change of position hurt her, but the pain subsided soon after she had settled in again. Sam covered her upper body with his jacket and put his arms around her underneath, his hands mangling with hers, still putting pressure on the gash.

They sat like this in silence for a while. The feeling of Sam's arms around her, his warmth and the rhythmical beating of his heart soothed Andy and took the horrible feeling of loneliness away. More than that, she suddenly felt safe again. Safer even than she had in a long time, like no matter what happened, he was there and he wouldn't leave her. She turned her head slowly to the right, her cheek now resting just above his heart, and secretly inhaled the smell of his skin.

"Andy?," Sam was almost whispering.

"Yeah?"

"You need to stay awake, OK? You can't fall asleep, no matter what happens," Sam said, trying his best to keep his voice from breaking.

Andy knew she wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. She already felt an overwhelming need to just close her eyes and rest. But she couldn't tell him that, so she promised.

"Come on, tell me something about you," Sam suggested.

Andy smiled weakly. "Like what?"

He thought for a moment. There were a million things he wanted to ask her, so much about her he still didn't know, even after all the time they had spent together. He didn't dare ask any of the questions that really troubled him, he needed to keep the mood up, so he decided to stick to the light questions.

"What's your favorite dessert?"

Andy chuckled. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. I always wondered …," Sam said, finally getting some of his teasing tone back into his voice. He couldn't let himself show her how he really felt in that moment. Couldn't let her know that he had never been more scared in his entire life.

"It's warm chocolate cake, with whipped cream and chocolate sauce on top," Andy answered truthfully.

"OK, erm … what was your favorite TV show when you were little?"

"The Turtles"

Now it was Sam's turn to chuckle. "For real? The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

"Yeah. Why, what's wrong with the Turtles?," Andy asked, pretending to be offended.

"Nothing. They were great," Sam replied, sadness clinging to his voice. "I liked them too."

Sam kept asking questions for another four or five minutes, trying his best to keep Andy awake, but after some time she could feel that she was drifting away. She couldn't really feel her body anymore. She wasn't cold, nor in pain, all that seemed far away all of a sudden. She felt almost too weak to talk, but there was something she needed to tell Sam, so she gathered all her strength.

"Sam?"

"Hm?"

"You know this isn't your fault, right?," she asked and tried to look up to see his face, but couldn't quite manage. She knew he was blaming himself for their current situation. Her situation. He always did when something bad happened to her and he was with her. The last thing she wanted was for him to beat himself up because of this. If it was anybody's fault it was hers, not his.

Sam was quiet for a moment. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears that were emerging in his eyes from running down his face. _Why does she have to do that? Why does she have to be so brave and even comfort me when she's the one that's_ … he couldn't even think it.

He knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn't help but think that this whole thing was just so damn unfair. And he couldn't help but think that it was his fault, that he should have protected her somehow …

"It's gonna be OK," he said eventually, not knowing how else to respond. Then he leaned down, inhaled the scent of her hair and gently kissed her on her head.

Andy felt his warm lips touch her and a weak smile emerged on her lips. She didn't think it was going to be OK, didn't think that anyone would come in time to save her. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live, do her job and she wanted … wanted another chance. Another chance with Sam. She wondered why she hadn't realized that earlier, when all of a sudden it seemed so clear. She wanted him. Wanted to just give it a try. They could be good together, she thought. They would probably drive each other insane, more than they already did on the job, but they could be good. Awesome even, she thought to herself, thinking about what Sam always said about himself. Scenes started playing in her mind's eye, of them riding in their cruiser together, driving through the city, teasing each other; his face as he looked over his shoulder to her, flashing a warm smile that showed his dimples. She saw them again in the mermaid lounge, pretending to be a couple, kissing; and then the moment when she had gotten out of the swat car, after she had heard the shots on the radio … she had been so scared that they were too late, but then she had seen him, standing there, leaning against a car, smiling at her …

The memories started to blur together and she lost track of her thoughts, slowly drifting into darkness.

"McNally?," Sam asked, his voice trembling.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

He waited for her to reply, waited for a long moment of absolute silence, but nothing came. Suddenly he realized that her breathing had changed, hadn't stopped but had become shallow. Her hands were lying loosely in his.

The silence that had surrounded them was suddenly broken by footsteps and shouting. Sam had just enough time to look up from Andy to see the iron door being forced open with a battering ram and half a dozen faces staring at him from under black helmets that were part of their swat uniforms. He saw confusion in their eyes and was about to say something, when one of them realized that they had found the two missing police officers instead of the bombers they had primarily been looking. The man quick-wittedly radioed their finding in, asking for a medic when he realized Andy's condition.

They had been found, but Sam couldn't feel relieved. _Please don't let it be too late_, he prayed, feeling for a pulse on Andy's neck. It was weak, almost gone, and he could barely hear her breathing anymore. He didn't dare move away from under her, afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep up the pressure on her wound, so he just kept holding her while half of the swat team stood in the door, staring at them. "McNally," he whispered into her ear, "just a couple more minutes. Stay with me, alright, just stay with me …"

The medics came quickly and after a first assessment of the situation applied first aid and moved Andy onto a stretcher to get her to the ambulance which was standing just outside the school building. Sam watched them as they did everything to save his partner, never leaving her side. When they started carrying her out of the room, he automatically followed them, but was stopped by the man who had called for the medics a couple of minutes ago.

"Officer … Swarek, is it?," he asked, reading Sam's name tag on his uniform. Sam tried to push past the man, but the officer held him back.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you leave just now, we need your statement about what happened," the man explained, resolutely but not unfriendly.

Sam followed Andy with his eyes as she was carried away by the medics. "I have to go with her, she's my partner …" was all he could say before he was interrupted.

"I know, but she's in good hands now and I'm not going to keep you long. But you need to tell us everything you know."

Sam wanted to protest, even thought about pushing the guy away and taking off after the medics who had just disappeared around the corner. He couldn't leave her alone now. He had to be there for her. What if she died and he wasn't there? But he knew they wouldn't let him go and he didn't stand a chance against a whole swat team. He swallowed hard and looked at the man in front of him, who gave him a sympathetic nod. He knew his best chance to get out of there fast was to cooperate, so he started to go over the events of the past hours as accurately and quickly as he could.

A few minutes later he sat in a swat car, following Andy's ambulance to the hospital. A member of the swat team had been assigned to take him there and wait with him for Andy to wake up, in order to get her statement as well. The officer had told Sam that they had found traces of explosives in the other room where the two men had been hiding out, which meant that they had indeed stumbled on the bomber, or bombers as they now knew, which made it vital to get a description from them. But Sam hadn't seen the men's faces, so he wasn't a big help. Andy however had seen their faces, must have, Sam had told the officer, so she was the only useful witness so far. As they drove towards the hospital, the officer noticed Sam's hands, which were full of Andy's dried blood. As Sam realized what the man was staring at, he looked down on his hands himself. He slowly rotated them, turning his palms up and back down, not knowing what to do. _Why couldn't all this just be a bad dream?,_ he thought. Just like he had had so many times before, another nightmare about Andy getting hurt. Why couldn't he just wake up, alone in his bed, her being safe asleep in her apartment, like usually?

"Here mate," the officer said suddenly, forcing Sam to look up at him. He was holding a bottle of disinfectant and some paper towels, which he had taken out of his glove compartment. It took Sam a moment to grasp what the officer was offering him and why. When he finally understood he took the bottle and towels, pressing out a quiet "Thanks".

They arrived at the hospital about two minutes after the ambulance. Sam ran into the building, through the entrance hall and down a corridor which he knew led to the emergency room and the ORs. He caught a glimpse of Andy as she was being pushed through two swing doors and immediately took off in that direction. A nurse saw him and stepped in front of him just before he could run through the door, causing him to stop.

"I'm sorry, officer, but I can't let you through here," she said, her tone neutral.

"Please, I need to be there, she's …"

"I'm very sorry, Sir, but you will have to wait. Please have a seat, the doctor will be out as soon as he knows anything." She pointed to the seating area to Sam's right and gave him an encouraging nod. Sam looked over her shoulder at the swing doors, an expression of complete desperation on his face, his eyes red and full of tears. Then he gave up. Suddenly he felt like all strength had left his body, his knees started to shake and he felt dizzy. He managed to walk over to the seating area, but only just, then he collapsed into the chair nearest to the swing doors, and buried his face in his hands. He didn't notice the officer who had driven him to the hospital enter the waiting area and talk to the nurse. He didn't hear him as he told her that he needed to talk to Andy as soon as she would wake up. He didn't see or hear anything around him. All he could see was the blood that hadn't stopped flowing out of Andy's body; her pale face as the medics had put her onto the stretcher; her lifeless hands as they had carried her out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this is so short, I didn't have a lot of time to write today (I work weekends) but I was so moved by some of the reviews, asking me to update, that I thought a short chapter was better than no McSwarek at all. **

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Rookie Blue.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Sergeant Best was informed about Andy's condition by the nurse, after Sam had finally managed to snap out of his trance like state about half an hour later. Best didn't hesitate to inform Andy's friends, but he couldn't let them leave in the middle of their shift. Not today, where even the rookies were desperately needed in the search for the bombers. The nurse also called Andy's dad, who immediately jumped into his car and drove to the hospital. As he came into the waiting room, he saw Sam sitting at the far end, his eyes staring empty at a spot in front of him.

"Swarek," he said as he approached him. "Where is she?"

Sam looked up to Tommy, whose face was flushed and full of concern. He opened his mouth to say something, to explain what had happened, to tell him everything he knew, maybe even calm him down. But when he looked into the gray eyes of Andy's father, all he could say was "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't protect her".

Tommy looked down at the man in front of him and didn't know what to say. He had never seen Sam Swarek like that, had hardly ever seen anyone like that, except for the people he had delivered death notifications to in the course of his career. He sat down next to Sam and extended a hand, slowly patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you did what you could, son," he said softly. "How bad is it?"

Sam pushed his despair away as best he could and answered quietly, his eyes again fixed on the floor. "A deep gash in her lower abdomen, right side … she lost a lot of blood … just before the medics came she passed out."

Tommy nodded, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "Was she still breathing when she got here?"

"She was when the medics took her to the ambulance. They wouldn't let me ride with her, so I don't … I don't know what happened afterwards."

Tommy nodded again and they fell silent.

The doctor came about twenty minutes later. Both Sam and Tommy looked up the moment they doors swung open, their hearts pounding, trying desperately to read the doctors expression.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Green," the man said after the nurse had pointed Sam and Tommy out to him.

Tommy stood up to shake the doctor's extended hand. Sam stayed where he was, unable to move but listening to every word.

"Tommy McNally, I'm her father," Andy's dad introduced himself.

"Mr McNally, your daughter was brought here with a serious trauma in her lower abdomen. She had lost a lot of blood and was unconscious. We stopped the bleeding and gave her several blood transfusions." The doctor paused for a second, breathing in deeply before he continued. "She is alive, but her condition is critical and I'm afraid we won't know anything for sure until she wakes up."

Sam closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. _She is alive. _

"When will she wake up?," Tommy asked the doctor, who shook his head in return.

"I'm afraid I can't say. We gave her a light anesthetic for the surgery which should wear off within the next thirty minutes, but with a big blood loss, such as your daughter suffered, it is uncertain when she will wake up, or, if she will wake up at all."

Sam felt the doctors last words like a punch in his stomach. Tommy swallowed hard. "Can I see her?," he asked, his voice shaking.

"Sure," the doctor said, "the nurse will bring you to her room in the intensive care unit." He gave a sign to the nurse, who had been sitting behind a desk, typing on a computer. She got up and came over to them, asking Tommy to follow her. They walked in the direction of another hallway, while Sam stayed where he was. He wasn't family, it wasn't his place to follow. He wanted nothing else but to be with her, to hold her hands and stroke her hair, to be there when she woke up …_ if she woke up_ … but he didn't move. He was the one person who could have protected her; it was his job to do so, his most important job, but he had screwed it up. The phrase kept repeating itself over and over in his mind. _You screwed it up Sam, you really screwed it up._ If she died, he would never forgive himself. And if he couldn't, how could her dad? So he stayed where he was, praying that she would make it. _Just wake up McNally, just wake up. Please … _

When Tommy noticed that Sam hadn't gotten up, he stopped and turned around. "Sam," he said, his voice a mix of sadness and commiseration. In spite of his concern for his daughter, he could see the desperation on Sam's face and knew that he was beating himself up over what had happened. He also thought he knew how much his daughter meant to her former TO, and how much he meant to her. "Come on, son, you too."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, thank you so much for all your reviews and the alerts – I never would have thought to get such a great feedback and it really means a lot to me, I can't stop checking my mails and every time I do there ****are some new alerts and it just makes me smile and want to go on with this. As you might have already noticed, I'm a big fan of drama. And I realize that so far the story has really only been about "hurt" and not so much about "comfort" and "romance", but I promise there will be a lot of that. I'm just building up to it, I want Sam and Andy's relationship to evolve naturally and that just takes time. Having said that, I think you can already guess that there won't be any character deaths in this story ****So here's chapter 7 for you, hope you enjoy and stick with me until I can move on to the romance part.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Rookie Blue.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7:<strong>

After the nurse had led Sam and Tommy to Andy's room, Sam hadn't left Andy's side for hours. Only when he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer he had reluctantly gotten up from his chair and asked Tommy if he could get him a coffee too. Andy's father had nodded gratefully before shifting his attention back to the face of his motionless daughter.

On his way to the coffee machine Sam had passed the waiting area and found about half of fifteenth division looking up at him as soon as they saw him. He stopped abruptly, surprised to find so many of his colleagues and friends in front of Andy's room. On a normal day he wouldn't have been surprised – Andy was well liked by most of her colleagues – but with the bomber running around and everyone doing double shifts …

Frank Best stood up from his seat next to Noelle and quickly closed the distance between himself and Sam before anyone else had a chance to go up and grill him for information. He was still wearing his uniform, although some of their other co-workers had shown up in their civilian clothes – apparently their shifts had already ended.

"Sam," Best said as a greeting, "How is she?"

Sam had been looking into Bests eyes so far but found that he somehow couldn't do it anymore. He looked down to the ground and inhaled deeply before he spoke. "They patched her up alright, but she still hasn't woken up. They say she's stable for now and that she could actually wake up any minute, but she could also just …" He couldn't bring himself to actually say it, so he just broke off.

Best nodded. He didn't need Sam to finish the sentence to know what he was saying. As he shifted his gaze from Sam's face downwards he noticed the dark blood stains on his uniform, as well as the belt that still held Sam's gun and other equipment.

"Sam, you gotta get to the barn and hand in your gun. And you need to get out of this uniform and …" Best was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"No," Sam said firmly, "I'm not leaving her like that."

"Sam-"

"Frank, I'm not going anywhere."

Best was slightly irritated by the stubbornness of his co-worker, but they had known each other for a very long time and he knew that Sam wouldn't back down easily. He heard the determination in Sam's voice, but what really made him cave in was the pleading look that he saw on his face.

"Alright. I need to get back to the station anyway. Just give me your gun and you can sign the paperwork tomorrow morning when you come in."

Sam let out a relieved sigh and handed his gun over to the staff sergeant. "Thanks Frank." He was about to walk away when he remembered what had been bugging him for the past hours.

"Any news about the bombers?," he asked, his jaw clenching. He hadn't been a fan of those maniacs before, but now he had a personal interest in their takedown. In fact, he seriously thought of calling in some favors to make sure he'd get some alone-time with them after they had been apprehended.

"They're done for," Best answered, a glimpse of satisfaction playing across his face.

"What? How?"

"An undercover agent that had been sent into a right-wing organization a couple months ago finally had a break through. Found out who the bombers were and what their next target was and filled the task force in just in time to evacuate the church they had been aiming for. The thing blew up anyway but we have reason to believe that the bombers were still in it when it happened. Guess they couldn't live with the failure," Best informed Sam.

Sam's mouth fell open. He didn't know how to respond to that. He knew he should be relieved that it was over and that no more civilians had been harmed, but somehow it wasn't enough. They had taken the easy way out and he couldn't help but feel angry and disappointed that they wouldn't be suffering more for what they had done. For what they had done to Andy.

Before he could say anything he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Oliver standing behind him, three cups of coffee in his hand. "Hey Sammy, thought I'd save you the way to the coffee machine," Oliver said, handing two of the cups over to Sam.

"Thank's Olli," Sam said gratefully.

"Don't mention it. How're you holding up brother?"

Sam frowned. "I'm not the one that got stabbed, Olli."

Oliver just nodded, knowing that Sam wouldn't tell him how he really felt no matter how hard he pushed. The dark circles under his friend's eyes, the disheveled uniform, and look of despair on his face told him enough anyway.

"Hey," they heard Tracy's voice from behind them and turned to look at her.

"Hey Tracy," Oliver said.

"Nash," Best greeted, his tone serious but warm.

"Any news?," Tracy asked cautiously. Her question was answered by all three of the men shaking their heads.

"I uhm, I drove by Andy's apartment before I came here. Picked up some clothes and stuff for when she wakes up," she held up a black sport's bag she had been holding, "It's just … Andy once told me how much she hates those hospital gowns, so I figured she'll want her own clothes as soon as she wakes up."

"That's very thoughtful Nash," Best said and Sam nodded his agreement. Oliver smiled a weak smile at Tracy.

"Can you .. uhm .. just put it into her room for me please?," Tracy asked, looking at Sam.

"Sure," Sam said, taking the bag off her.

After that no one really knew what to say anymore. Before the silence became unbearable Sam excused himself and told them that he'd better go back now. The three police officers nodded silently and watched him leave before slowly resuming their seats next to their friends and co-workers.

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><p>When Sam reentered the room he noticed for the first time how exhausted Tommy looked. He put down the sports bag Tracy had given to him and checked his watch – it was already past midnight. He handed one of the coffees over to Andy's dad, who nodded a silent Thanks and immediately took a sip from the hot liquid. Dark circles had formed under his eyes too and even in the dimly lit room Sam could see the unshed tears glistening in the old man's eyes.<p>

"Tommy," he said quietly, "It's late. You should probably go home and get some sleep."

"I can't just leave her alone," Tommy answered after a few moments.

"She won't be. I'm staying. But Tommy, there's no point in the both of us staying all night and then when she does finally wake up tomorrow we're both too exhausted to actually be there for her. We can stay in shifts."

Sam watched Andy's father for what seemed an eternity of pondering about Sam's suggestion. Finally he nodded and stood up from his chair next to Andy's bed. "Thank you, son," he said simply before placing a gentle kiss on Andy's forehead. He took his coat and walked towards the door. "I'll be back in the morning."

With Andy's father gone, Sam sat down in the chair next to her. He sighed deeply before rubbing a hand over his face. He looked at the unconscious woman. Her face was relaxed, as was the rest of her body. Her hair, which had been held in a tight bun during their shift, was now open, the soft brown curls framing her pale face. Sam took her right hand and held it between his own, drawing circles with his thumb on its back. The gesture came naturally, but when he thought about it, he realized that he would never have dared to do something like that while she was awake. Sure, they touched each other sometimes. Like when he handed her a coffee and her fingers briefly brushed his, or when he allowed himself to put his hand at the small of her back to guide her through a door. But leaving aside a few exceptions from the past, that was usually it. After all, they were colleagues and … friends … nothing more.

But then, that wasn't entirely true. Not for him anyway.

It hadn't been love on first sight. In fact, he had been honest when he had said that she wasn't his type. And when she had burned him on the day they met, he definitely hadn't felt very attracted to her. _Overeager rookie, trying to be a hero … _

Eventually he had gotten over the fact that she had literally ruined eight months of hard work undercover. More or less at least – he still felt he had the right to reproach and tease her about it. Even before that though there had been this moment in the parking lot, when they had almost kissed. He had wanted to take her home that night, but it wouldn't have been more than a couple of hours of fun.

But then, by and by, he had gotten to know her. Know her weaknesses, her annoying habits … but also her strengths, her bravery, her innocence. She really was a handful as a rookie, but she could also make him laugh and at some point, he couldn't really tell when it was exactly, she had become his motivation. The reason he got up in the morning, looking forward to go to work. It's not like he had been miserable or lonely before he knew her, he had actually been pretty happy with his life. At least it had been a lot easier before he knew her. He hadn't felt like he was missing something until … until he had known.

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><p>Sam let go of Andy's hand and put his head into both of his own. <em>It just isn't fair<em>, he thought again. _She didn't deserve this_. She had been so miserable after the break-up with Luke and it had taken her so long to finally be comfortable at work again. Months had passed before she had been back to her old self, had gotten her life together, and her smiles had once again reached her eyes.

And now … now she just lay there, not moving, oblivious to the world, because he had screwed up. _I had one job … one job … and I screwed it up …_

He opened his eyes and looked at her, just watched her face for a while. Then he leaned over to her and put his right hand on her forehead, gently stroking over it. He was afraid to hear the tremble in his voice again if he spoke, so he just whispered, "Andy, I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere. All I'm asking is for you to return the favor, OK?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue. Sure wish I did though.**

**Chapter ****8**

The room was dark when Andy opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, her eyelids heavy. She could make out the shapes of some cupboards, a wash basin, two doors … the end of her bed, her legs covered under a thin blanket. Turning her head slowly, she looked left. A monitor with blinking green and red lights stood next to her bed. A needle stuck in the back of her left hand, a tube running from it to an IV drop.

_Hospital_, she thought, realizing where she was.

Her mouth and throat were dry and her tongue felt swollen. She swallowed in an attempt to make it better but it didn't really help. Her gaze fell onto an alarm clock that stood on her bedside table. 2 a.m.

She felt rested, but incredibly weak. She tried to sit up in bed, but the moment she tried to use her abdominal muscles a sharp pain stabbed through her, letting her fall back into her pillow with an expression of agony on her face. She moaned quietly as she tried to breathe through the pain. When the pain had subsided, she carefully drew away the blanket that covered her body to look at the spot it had come from. She was wearing a hospital gown, which opened at the back, so she only had to pull it off slightly to peek underneath it. In the dark room she couldn't see much, but with her right hand she could feel a thick bandage and some tape to keep it in place. She put the gown back to cover her body completely and pulled the covers back up. Those few movements were already enough to exhaust her and make her breathe heavily, as if she had been running up a street way too fast.

How had she gotten here?, she wondered, her mind blank. _Think Andy, what's the last thing you remember?,_ she asked herself, closing her eyes to concentrate. _Dinner with dad? No, that was last Friday … I was off on Saturday, doing the laundry; Sunday was nightshift, riding with Dov … Tuesday was desk duty, trying to find information about the bombers … _

_The bombers._ They had been looking for the bombers on Wednesday, Sam and her. Suddenly she remembered everything. The deserted school building, the basement, the two men, the knife. Sam, as he got hit from behind; being locked in that storage room for … _how long had they been down there?_ She didn't remember. Or probably just didn't know. She must have passed out while they were still down there, since she couldn't remember anything afterwards. What she did remember was that feeling in the pit of her stomach she had had just before everything had gone dark, that feeling that she was going to die.

But she hadn't, she was still here.

_How had they gotten out?,_ she wondered.

Her head started spinning from all the memories and questions that flooded her mind and she opened her eyes again to shut out the dozens of images that came back to her all at once. She needed to talk to someone, find out what had happened. She looked to her right and found what she was looking for – a buzzer to call a nurse. She lifted her right arm just a little too fast and immediately was rewarded with another wave of pain from her abdomen. More careful this time she reached out to the buzzer once more and pressed it. The movement again seemed to use up all her strength. She let her arm fall back on the bed and waited, silently listening for a footfall in the hallway.

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><p>Less than two minutes later the door opened and a middle-aged man in a white coat stepped into the room, followed by an extremely young looking woman in light blue scrubs. The woman, which Andy suspected to be a nurse, switched the lights on as soon as she entered the room and Andy had to close her eyes, pained by the sudden brightness.<p>

"Officer McNally, I'm very glad to see you up and awake," the man started while taking the clipboard with the patient's information which had been hanging at the end of Andy's bed. "I'm Dr. Green, your attending physician. How are you feeling?"

Andy opened her mouth to say something, but the words were barely understandable, her voice hoarse. The nurse didn't wait to be asked but immediately held a plastic cup with a straw to Andy's lips, which Andy gratefully accepted. She took a couple of sips from the room-temperature water before handing the cup back to the nurse, who gave her a warm smile in return.

"Thanks," Andy said, her voice more clear now.

"Do you feel any pain?," Dr. Green asked.

"Only when I move," Andy answered truthfully.

The doctor looked over to the nurse, who understood his request without words and started a new IV-drop with pain meds in it.

"Andy," he began again, this time using her first name, "do you remember what happened to you?"

She looked away then, avoiding his eyes, focusing on a point on her covers instead and nodded. "Yeah, I remember," she said simply, not wanting to go over the whole story with the man. He probably knew more or less what had happened anyway, she figured, no need to tell him again. "How long have I been here?," she asked instead.

The doctor quickly checked his clipboard before starting to speak. "Well you were brought in Wednesday, early afternoon, and today is Saturday, well actually it's already Sunday …"

_What? More than __three days?_ She had thought it might have been a couple of hours since she passed out, maybe a day all in all, but more than three days? She stared at the doctor, trying to comprehend the information, when he spoke again.

"You were already unconscious when the medics brought you in. You had lost a lot of blood, and I mean really, a lot of blood. It was a pretty close call," the doctor explained. Andy gave a slight nod before he continued. "Again, I'm very glad you woke up. That means you're finally out of the woods and now we can focus on getting you back on your feet." He stood up himself now, apparently ready to leave.

"Wait, so … does that mean I'll be fine? I mean, just like before?," Andy asked, still a bit overwhelmed with the whole situation.

"Yes, absolutely. You will have a small scar but I expect you to make a full recovery."

"How long do I have to be here?," she asked, suddenly anxious to get home and out of this place as soon as possible. Apparently she had already been here longer than she thought was necessary. "And when can I go back to work?"

The doctor gave a light chuckle. "Slow down now, you just woke up after a coma and already you want to know when you can get back on the job?"

_Wait, coma? __Did he just say coma? Why was it a coma all of a sudden – I was only out for a couple of days. Surely that couldn't be considered a coma …?_

The doctor didn't notice Andy's confused expression. "Well, Officer McNally, you'll be able to go home in about a week, maybe earlier if there's someone to take care of you at home. As for the job, your superior will have to put you on desk duty for another two weeks, at least. Then you can come back for a check-up and if everything heals as nicely as I hope, you should be back out on the streets in about three to four weeks. That sound good to you?"

It didn't. Not really. _What was she supposed to do for a whole month? _

She didn't say that out loud though, just nodded and thanked the doctor, who seemed to be in a hurry now. "Alright then, I'll check on you tomorrow morning. If you need anything, just buzz for the nurse again. Get some more rest." And with that Dr. Green left the room.

Andy looked down at her hands, which were fiddling with her covers. More than three days she had been out cold. She still couldn't really believe it. It did explain why she was completely alone though.

As if she had been reading Andy's thoughts, the young nurse suddenly cleared her throat and gave her another warm smile when Andy shifted her gaze at her. "We had to send them home eventually. But until about two hours ago, you were never really alone."

Andy swallowed and gave the nurse a weak smile. "Was my dad here?"

"Yes, he arrived about an hour after you were brought in and stayed half the night. He came back in the morning and every day after that, and if the last days were any indication he'll be back tomorrow before we even start giving out breakfast."

_Poor dad_, Andy thought to herself. He must have been unbelievably worried about her. She just hoped he hadn't tried to drown his worry in alcohol …

When Andy didn't respond right away, the young woman set down at the edge of her bed and spoke again. "Your partner was here too, you know? He stayed even after your dad left, refusing to go home." Andy looked up at that. "He stayed the first night through and only left the next day for a couple of hours. He stayed the whole night again." The nurse paused for a moment, unsure if she should go on with the personal remark that was lying on her tongue. "There were a lot of other police officers here as well. At some point every seat in the waiting area was occupied by a cop." She chuckled good-naturedly. "You're a very lucky woman, to have so many friends."

Andy listened to the nurses words and smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Officer Swarek asked me … well, actually he made me swear to call him as soon as there was any change in your condition. Do you want me to call him now?"

Andy thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, don't. He must be super exhausted. I don't want him to come over and miss another night's sleep."

The nurse frowned, surprised about Andy's answer. She would have loved to call the cute officer up and give him the good news, finally giving him a reason to snap out of the misery he had been in for the past couple of days. _Poor guy_, she thought to herself, remembering the desperate expression and exhaustion on his face when he had finally left not two hours ago. But it wasn't her call and she could understand that one wanted to have some alone time after waking up from a coma. So she didn't push the matter any further but told Andy one more time to just buzz if she needed anything and left the room, turning off the lights before she closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>So guys, that's it for chapter <strong>**8 – I hope you're as relieved and happy that Andy made it as I am. Seriously though, I was never intending on letting her die, a) I don't like character deaths and b) this just isn't where I want this story to go. However, she's not as fine as one might assume at this point. **

**Next**** chapter will be more McSwareky, just like I promised. I haven't even started writing it though, so I don't know if I'll have it up by tomorrow. I'll try my best though **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue or any of its characters.**

**Author's note: So, as some of you might have noticed, I haven't updated this story in quite some time. I got a bad case of writer's block and also got really busy. I'm very sorry. I wish I could tell you that I will finish this story within the next couple of weeks now, but the truth is, I can't. But I will try.**

* * *

><p>Andy didn't get much more rest that night. She really didn't need it anyway. She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling that slowly went from black to grey to light green when the sun finally started to rise. Around six o'clock, she just couldn't take it anymore. She extended her arm to reach for the buzzer, this time more careful to avoid another flash of pain in her abdomen, and called the nurse.<p>

The woman that entered a few minutes later had nothing in common with the giggling thing she had met a few hours earlier. Andy guessed that the girl's shift had already ended, which meant that the middle-aged sour-looking woman that entered her room now was probably the day shift.

"Welcome back," the woman said, but her tone wasn't very welcoming.

"Thanks," Andy said. "Could you help me get out of bed please? I wouldn't have called but I wasn't sure how to remove the needle from my hand and I …"

"You're not supposed to get up," the nurse interrupted her. "What do you need?"

Andy frowned. "Well I need to go to the bathroom. And I was hoping that I could take a shower and brush my teeth while I'm there."

"If you need to relieve yourself, there's a bed-pan you can use", the nurse said. "We make our rounds around 9 a.m., we'll help you clean up then. Breakfast will be served in about an hour."

* * *

><p>When Tommy opened the door to his daughter's room, he was prepared to find her lying in bed, her eyes closed, like he had the past few days. Nobody had told him that she had woken up, so when he laid eyes on Andy, who was sitting upright in bed, the hospital gown replaced by a grey track suit, her hair wet, her eyes wide open, he froze in his tracks.<p>

"Dad," Andy said, smiling.

For a second, Tommy McNally wasn't sure whether he was dreaming. In fact, he had had more than one dream about this and the scnes he had imagined looked quite similar to the one in front of him. Could it be that he was still sleeping?

"Dad?"

"I don't believe it," Tommy finally said. He took three huge steps towards his daughter and put his arms around her. Tears shot into his eyes and he let out a big sigh of relieve as he held Andy tight, burying his face in her wet hair. He inhaled her familiar scent that was mixed with the smell of soap and the typical, sterile hospital smell that filled the entire building.

"Oh Dad, I'm ok," Andy said. "Really."

Tommy let go of Andy and looked into her eyes. "Last time I saw you, you looked like death himself. And now you just … you look like yourself again. How is that even possible?"

Mostly, it was made possible by a thick layer of make-up Tracy had thoughtfully put into the black sports bag she gave to Sam the night Andy was brought in. Andy had applied it after she had taken a long, hot shower and brushed her teeth just a few minutes earlier, with the help of a very irritated nurse. But Andy wasn't going to tell her Dad that.

"I'm sorry you were so worried," she said instead. "But I'm fine now. You on the other hand look like you could use a week of sleep."

Tommy chuckled. "I guess I could. But God, I'm so happy to see you awake. I thought I was gonna lose my mind these past few days." He sat down in the chair next to Andy's bed and took her hand. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

"The doc's keeping me on pain meds, so I don't feel much," Andy said truthfully. "Honestly, I feel fine. I can't wait to get out of here."

"That's my daughter. But you know you can't just up and leave yet. Jesus, you just woke up from a coma, Andy. You have got to take it easy."

Andy exhaled audibly but didn't say anything.

"Have you talked to Swarek yet?" Tommy asked after a while.

"I didn't want to wake him up. I'm guessing he's as exhausted as you look."

Tommy looked at her, a little surprised. "I'm sure he'd sleep a lot better if he knew you are ok."

"The doc said I could go home as long as somebody was around to help me out a little," Andy said, disregarding her father's last remark. "Could you just tell him that I won't be alone? I mean, I have Tracy and Dov and Chris in case I really need help. I don't see why I should stay here any longer. I can sleep in my own bed just as well. Better actually, since it's a lot more comfortable than this one."

"Andy …"

"Dad, please? I'm fine. And you know how much I hate hospitals."

"Actually, I didn't know that."

"Well, I do. And now you know. Please?" Andy looked at her father with pleading eyes she knew he couldn't resist very long. It was her secret weapon and it had never failed her before. Except when she had asked him to quit drinking, which she had done about a hundred times growing up. For some reason, drunk fathers didn't seem to fall for pleading eyes.

Now it was Tommy's turn to exhale audibly. He was a little irritated with his daughter's stubbornness, but he couldn't say no to her. Not after everything that had happened this past week.

"Alright," he said eventually. "I'll talk to the doctor."

* * *

><p>Tommy had stayed with Andy for another hour, until she had finally kicked him out. "You need to get some rest," she had said, and he had been too exhausted to argue with her.<p>

He had briefly talked to the doctor, who had been a little irritated about the request to release her so early. He had insisted she stay at least another day, and Tommy hadn't argued with that either.

Now he sat down in his car in the hospital parking lot, closed the door and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed speed dial number five, then waited. A gruff man's voice answered after the third ring.

"Yeah," Sam said.

"It's Tommy McNally," Andy's father said.

On the other end of the line, Sam's eyes shot open. His heart was suddenly racing, his mind wiped blank. Tommy hadn't called him once since Andy had been brought into the hospital. The only reason for him to do so was if something about her condition had changed. Sam felt helpless. A feeling he had gotten to know very well during the past few days.

"What happened?" His voice was hoarse.

"She's awake. She's fine, Sam."

There was a long moment of silence, then Sam let out the breath he had been holding in. He roughly rubbed his face as if to make sure he wasn't imagining this conversation.

"She's fine?" He repeated.

"Yeah. When I came in she was fully dressed and smiling at me as if nothing had happened. I thought I was dreaming."

Sam was so relieved, he actually felt like running out of the house and hugging the next person on the street. "When did she wake up?," he asked.

"Middle of the night," Tommy answered.

Sam's good mood was suddenly dampened. She had woken up alone, in the middle of the night. He didn't even want to imagine how confused she must have been.

"Why didn't anybody call me? I told all the nurses to call me the moment anything changed."

"Andy told them not to. She didn't want to wake you. You know how she is."

Sam shook his head. He was angry. Angry with the staff for not calling him when he had made it very clear how important this was; and with himself, for not being there for her when she needed him. Again.

* * *

><p>Sam was in his car and on the way to the hospital within twenty minutes. He called Best from his cell phone, telling him about the good news and asking him to let Andy's friends at the station know. He couldn't wait to see her. See her beautiful eyes looking back at him. See her smile. He really hoped to see her smile, even if it was just for a second, and pondered over things he could say to cheer her up. He carelessly parked his truck two feet away from the curb, got into the elevator and waited impatiently until he reached the right floor.<p>

He looked for the nurse while walking towards Andy's room. He really wanted to give that woman a piece of his mind. Fortunately for the nurse, she was long gone by the time Sam arrived.

Sam reached the door and knocked lightly, something he hadn't done the past few times he had been here. There had been no need. He felt his heart racing again while he waited for her voice. He had forgotten all the jokes he had prepared on his way to the hospital. His anger about the nurse had dissipated. All he wanted was to stroke her face, hold her tight and see her beautiful smile again.

"Come in," he heard her voice from inside.

He opened the door.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Rookie Blue.**

Sam couldn't believe his eyes. Tommy had told him about Andy's sudden improvement, but he still hadn't expected to find her like _this_. Except for the grey track suit she was wearing, she looked like she was about to go on a date. Her hair fell over her shoulders in soft waves, her skin was back to its normal, healthy tone. She looked up from the magazine she was reading and flashed him a big smile. Her eyes were as mesmerizing as they had been that night in the parking lot when they had shared their first intimate moment. He closed the door and made his way over to her bed.

"Oh thank God you are here," she said and threw the magazine onto her nightstand. "I'm going crazy in here. I must have read that magazine at least three times already, and trust me, it wasn't even interesting the first time. Are men really into threesomes?"

"Excuse me?" He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the last word.

"Threesomes. It says here that 75% of all men between 17 and 60 are into threesomes. Even the ones in committed relationships. What's with that? I mean … what's so great about having to do double the work? I can't imagine that's really something me-"

"Andy," Sam interrupted her. He was standing next to her bed now, not two feet away from her. Now that he was so close, he could see that she was wearing make-up. He briefly wondered why she had put it on when she usually didn't even bother to do that when they went to the Penny. "Andy, slow down, OK? How are you feeling?"

"Sorry," Andy said. "I've just been so bored. I can't wait to get out of here. I'm fine, really, just underchallanged. Hey, what's going on at the station? I need someone to bring me up to speed on everything I've missed."

Sam's expression took on a slightly worried look. He sat down next to Andy so they were more or less on the same eyelevel, and when he opened his mouth again he spoke slower than usual, as if talking to a child. "Everyone at the station is fine, Andy. But they were worried about you. We all were." He made a break, not sure how to go on. "How much do you remember?"

Andy frowned. "From the basement you mean?"

Sam nodded.

"Pretty much everything, I guess. Up until I blacked out that is. I don't remember how I got here or what happened after. "

"Yeah. A SWAT team found us not long after you …" He swallowed. Thinking about the moment she had stopped talking to him still brought on this feeling of just wanting to scream. He looked to the floor, shook his head.

"What is it?" Andy asked.

"I … I'm sorry, Andy. I shouldn't have let you go into the basement by yourself. I should have known better. I screwed up."

Andy shook her head dismissively. "Sam, stop. None of this is your fault. Also, I'm fine. It's not like anything really happened."

Now, Sam was confused. "What do you mean, nothing really happened? You got stabbed and almost died, Andy. You were in a coma for three days!"

"Honestly, I'm pretty sure this whole thing was a lot worse for you than it was for me. All I did was catch up on some sleep, really. The doc said all I'll be left with is a tiny scar, practically invisible. Plus scars are kinda cool. Makes me look tough." She smiled.

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. He stared at her, unsure how to respond to that statement. Did she not understand what a close call it had been?

"Let's just move on from that topic, OK?," she said. "It's over, and I'm a little fed up with talking about it. Hey, can you speak to Frank and ask him if I could come back this week maybe? I mean I know I'll have to be on desk duty for the next two weeks or so, but there really is no point in my sitting at home when I could do something more productive."

"I think you should take it easy the next few weeks. What did the doctor say how long you should stay in the hospital?"

"He said I could go home tomorrow." That wasn't completely true, but technically, it wasn't a lie either.

"Tomorrow?" Sam made a mental note to look for this so-called doctor as soon as his visit here was over.

"Yep. Don't worry, my dad's picking me up and giving me a ride home," Andy said, anticipating his next question.

Sam wanted to protest, but decided against it. He had a feeling that there was no arguing with Andy right now. He didn't understand why she was acting this way – it was extreme even for her. He had expected her to give him her typical "I'm fine", but not that she would dismiss her near-death experience all together. "Alright. Do you need anything else?", he asked instead.

Andy looked around the room, pondering the question. "I think I have everything I need. Thanks though."

"OK," Sam said. They looked at each other silently until it became a little awkward.

"Thanks for dropping by, Sam. I'm sorry you lost so much sleep over this thing," Andy said eventually.

Sam shook his head. How could she trivialize the situation like this? _I'm sorry you lost so much sleep over this thing …_ Like losing some sleep had been his biggest problem. "I thought you were gonna die," he said quietly. "On _my_ watch."

"Oh Sam." Andy's expression was pitiful. "I already told you it wasn't your fault. Seriously, let's just move on."

It really wasn't that easy. Not for him, and he doubted it could be so easy for her. But for some reason she wasn't having any of it. He was glad that she didn't blame him for what happened, but not talking about what had happened wasn't the right way to deal with it either, he knew that from experience.

"You look as tired as my dad did when he was here earlier on," Andy said, interrupting Sam's thoughts. "Go home and get some sleep, Sam. I'll see you at the station."

Sam didn't argue with her. He got up and gave her a weak but sincere smile. "I'm glad you're ok, Andy," he said. Then he left.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam and Tommy McNelly both agreed that Andy wasn't acting smart, but they also both realized that there was nothing they could do about it. Andy left the hospital less than a day after she had woken up. She went straight home, where her friends – all except for Gail, because she was on shift at the time – welcomed her with some of her favorite foods. They had also stocked her fridge with groceries so that she wouldn't even have to think of leaving the house for at least three days. Of course, they still instructed her to call them if there was anything – anything at all! – she needed.

Dov and Chris stayed till about nine p.m., then said their good byes. They were assigned the early shift the next day and needed to get some sleep. Tracy stayed a little longer, cleaning up after everyone so that Andy wouldn't have to do it. She hugged her friend for the third time that day, told her again how happy she was that Andy was ok, then she left as well.

Andy popped another pill to get her through the night pain-free, brushed her teeth and went to bed. She lay awake until she heard the birds outside her open window starting to whistle.

* * *

><p>Sam stared at his phone for the millionth time this week. He had called her once before, the day after she had been released from the hospital, but hadn't talked to her since. He remembered their last conversation.<p>

_"You know, if there's anything you need, I'm here for you."_

_"I know Sam, but I'm fine. Don't worry about it."_

_"But I do worry."_

_Silence. _

_"Andy?"_

_"Yes, I'm here. Look I'm kinda in the middle of something. Do you mind if we talk another time?"_

_"Sure. Call me whenever you like."_

_"I will, thanks. Bye Sam."_

* * *

><p>She hadn't called, and neither had he. He still talked to Tommy every now and then, but Andy's father hadn't been spending too much time with her either. She was blowing him off just like she had done with Sam. Tracy was the only one in contact with her and Sam grilled her for information whenever they ran into each other at the station. But Tracy couldn't tell him much either. "She's doing fine," she'd say. "I think she just needs a little time."<p>

He picked up his phone, went to his contact list and scrolled down. He had saved her under "McNally", so her name wasn't the first one to pop up. He stared at her name, pondering whether to call her again. He understood the need for some alone time. Hell, if anyone understood, it was him. But Andy wasn't usually the type to deal with things by shutting everyone out, that was more his strategy. Andy needed to talk about things to work through them, but from what he understood, she hadn't talked to Tracy either. Not about what had happened or how she felt about it.

He dropped his phone back onto the bar and picked up his glass instead, finishing the rest of his whiskey in one go. The Penny was pretty crowded tonight. Some detective was retiring and half of 15th was there to bid him farewell. Sam wasn't in a party mood, but he didn't want to go home either. He wanted to drink, and drinking alone at home wasn't a good thing. So he stayed and did his best to ignore the speeches, the jokes, the cheers and the singing.

It was almost 11 p.m. when he finally decided to call it a night. He paid the barman, finished his drink and got up, ready to leave. When he turned around, he saw her. She was sitting at one of the small tables at the other end of the room. She was laughing at something the guy opposite from her had just said. Sam didn't recognize him, or any of the other two that were sitting with her.

* * *

><p>Andy excused herself and made her way through the crowd to the bathroom. She was halfway there when she almost ran into a guy that was standing right in front of her and wouldn't move. She looked up and instantly recognized the face.<p>

"Sam," she said, "I didn't know you were here."

"Same here. Shouldn't you be at home?" Sam noticed that the last sentence had sounded a little too patronizing, but it was too late.

"Actually, I'm right where I want to be," Andy answered and tried to push past him.

Sam held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it this way. I'm just worried about you. I haven't heard from you in almost a week."

Andy sighed, a little annoyed. "Everything is fine. I just wanted to go out and see my friends, but when I arrived they weren't there. So I sat with some colleagues from the night shift."

Sam looked over to the young men at the table Andy had been sitting at. They obviously weren't sober anymore and also a little too loud for Sam's taste. "I didn't know you had friends from the night shift."

"Well, I do now. Is the interrogation over? Can I go?" Andy asked. She was obviously irritated, but Sam wasn't quite sure why.

"Sure. Do you need a ride home? I can stay a little longer."

"Thanks, but no," Andy said while brushing past him. "I'm not leaving anytime soon."

* * *

><p>He hadn't known that she was coming back that day. Nobody had told him. He was just coming out of the locker room when he caught a glimpse of the back of her head as she rounded the corner in front of him. He couldn't see her face, but still he was sure it was her. He walked into parade and scanned the room. She was sitting in the second row on the right, between Dov and Tracy. He pushed past some uniformed officers leaning against the wall until he was far enough into the room to see her face, at least from the side. He was still looking at her when Best began his speech.<p>

"… Before you go out there today, please welcome back Officer McNally. She'll be manning the desk for the next two weeks, so be nice to her."

Best's appeal was answered with clapping and cheering from all sides. Andy smiled and nodded her thanks as was expected in this kind of situation, but didn't get up right away. The officers left the room one after the other, getting ready for their shift and streaming outside into the parking lot. Sam didn't move. He watched Andy pretend to sort through some files Best had handed all of them during parade. When almost everyone had left, she got up – slowly, one hand pressed against the place on her abdomen where she had been stabbed. Her face was tense.

She collected her files and turned to leave, when she saw Sam standing not five feet from her. She let out a frustrated sigh and walked past him through the door. Sam followed right behind her.

"You're not ready," he said quietly. It was a statement, not a question.

"Frank seems to think differently," was her only response. She didn't look at him; didn't even stop to talk to him, just kept going until they arrived at the coffee machine. She poured herself a cup.

Sam folded his hands. "You're mad at me," he said. This time, it was a question.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"You tell me."

Andy added two packs of sugar and milk to her coffee, then turned to face Sam. "Not everything is about you," she said and walked off without waiting for a response.

Gale, who had seen the entire exchange, followed Andy to her desk. "Are you trying to get nominated for bitch of the year?" she asked.

Andy looked up, irritated. "Excuse me?"

"It's ok if you are. Just know that I won't give up the title without a fight."

And with that, Gale strolled away.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue. **

**Author's Note: I just wanted to thank you all for your reviews. Believe it or not, the only reason I've started writing again was because I got a review about a week ago, asking for an update. Up until then, I was sure that noone cared about the story anymore, after all, I hadn't updated it in about two years. But now I have and I do hope that I'll be able to finish the story soon. I also hope that you don't hate Andy too much, even though she's not acting like herself at the moment. **

* * *

><p>„It's not you, you know?"<p>

Sam looked over to his partner for the day, Chris Diaz. They were driving around the outskirts of their district, looking for a known bag thief that had turned violent about an hour ago. He had stabbed his last victim with a butterfly knife and taken off, leaving the woman to bleed out on the curb.

Sam stopped in front of a red light. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Andy. She's been acting really strange since she got out of the hospital. Gale told me about your conversation with her the other day – the one at the station? I just thought you should know, it's not just you. She even flew into Tracy's face yesterday when she suggested that Andy should take it easy."

Sam mulled over Chris's words. Partly, he was relieved to hear that it wasn't him in particular Andy seemed to be mad at. He had started to believe that she secretly blamed him for getting hurt, and it had twisted his heart in ways that had kept him awake all night.

But if Andy even treated her best friend like this, it meant that something was seriously wrong with her. Sam had a suspicion that he already knew what was going on with her, he just didn't know how to help her get through it …

* * *

><p>Andy carefully took off the black t-shirt she had been wearing underneath her uniform. She looked down on herself and found the white bandage that covered her wound completely soaked through with fresh blood. She swore under her breath. Her wound had been hurting all afternoon, since she had stretched to put an evidence box back onto its shelf, which happened to be the one on the very top. She had felt the pain immediately, but ignored it. She wasn't going to let a bit of pain stop her from doing her work. <em>From living her life. <em>

She took out a fresh bandage from inside her bag, got cleaned up and patched up the wound. Showering was extremely laborious in her condition, so she didn't want to do it at the station. She finished getting changed, picked up her bag and left the empty locker room.

Just outside the door, she ran into Dov – literally, and almost lost her balance. She felt another stabbing pain in her lower abdomen.

"Woa, I'm sorry Andy, I didn't see you," he said, steadying her with both hands.

"I'm fine." Andy tried her best to breathe through the pain, but her face betrayed her words.

"I don't think so. I think you should sit down. Let me take your bag and then –"

"Dov, I said I'm fine, OK? Just look where you're going next time." Andy wiggled out of Dov's hands and continued towards the exit.

"You know, Andy, if you would just let us, we'd be there for you," Dov yelled after her.

Andy shot him one last glare over her shoulder, then left the building.

Walking home probably wasn't the smartest choice she could make, she realized that. But the last thing she wanted right now was to ask someone for a ride and be stuck with them in a car for fifteen minutes, no matter who it was. She could have cabbed it, but really, she needed some fresh air to cool down. There was a part of her that knew that she was being a bitch to everyone. This part also knew that her friends would only take her aggressions so long, and that there would come a point when she couldn't take back anymore what she had said. But this part didn't have much power at the moment and she was pretty practiced in ignoring it.

When she reached her apartment, she was sweating like she usually did after a 6K run. Her knees were shaky and if she had tried to walk another five minutes, she probably would have blacked out. She sank down onto her couch and stayed there motionless until the room finally stopped spinning. She knew that she should eat something – should have done that a while ago, actually – but she didn't feel hungry. Her appetite had been gone since she came out of the hospital anyway. Instead of getting something to eat, she opened her bag and took out the beige folder she had secretly taken from the evidence box earlier on. It was the file about the bombers.

* * *

><p>After reading it for the third time, she finally put the file down. There was nothing in it that could help her. Nothing that could help her understand. She didn't even know what it was she wanted to understand. It was simple, really. Two crazies had set out to kill a bunch of innocent people. Andy hadn't been careful enough and gotten hurt. The crazies had failed in their plan to kill everyone and blown themselves up instead.<p>

She closed the file and threw it back into her bag. She felt stupid for stealing it in the first place. What had she expected to find? A note from that guy, explaining why he had stabbed her? A letter addressed to her, saying how sorry he was?

She shook her head and finally got up from the couch. The dizziness came back almost immediately, but dissipated a few moments later. She went into the bathroom, dropped her clothes onto the floor and just before she got into the shower, caught a reflection of herself in the mirror. She didn't look like someone who'd been in a coma not even two weeks ago, but she knew the reason for that wasn't a speedy recovery. She took a sponge and started removing the thick layer of makeup she had applied this morning, just like she had done every day the past two weeks. When she was done, her cheeks were flushed, but the rest of her face was pale like a ghost's. Dark circles occupied the space under her eyes, letting her appear older than she was. She stared at her reflection until she started to freeze. Then she finally climbed into the shower.

* * *

><p>"Look, I know she's been through a lot, but that doesn't give her the right to act like a freaking –"<p>

"Gale," Chris interrupted her tirade. "Don't."

"Why are you protecting her? Someone needs to put her head on straight again."

"She just needs some time," Chris said conciliatorily.

"_You_ didn't act this way after you got stabbed," Gale insisted. She took another sip from her martini, then decided to just empty the glass while she was at it.

The Penny was quiet that night. Only a few of 15th finest had come in after their shift, probably because of the bad weather conditions that got worse by the minute. Chris and Gale were sitting at a small table in the back room, taking turns with Tracy, Dov and Sue at the dartboard.

"I didn't act this way, but that doesn't mean that I was fine after what happened. It took me a while to fully understand it and come to terms with it. And truth be told, I _was_ mad. I just didn't know what or who I was mad about."

Gale shook her head but didn't say anything else. Andy's behavior annoyed her. Not because she found it hurtful that a friend would treat her so badly, but because she didn't think it _fit_ Andy. Andy just wasn't the grumpy, bitchy type. It was like watching a five year old girl with blonde curls smoke a cigarette – it just didn't fit.

* * *

><p>One week later, the doctor finally took out the stitches that had been holding the gash in Andy's abdomen together. Andy was relieved to finally get rid of them. Showering would be much easier now.<p>

"And how are you feeling otherwise?" Dr. Green asked her as soon as he was done.

Andy put her t-shirt back on before she answered. "Fine," she said.

"And how is work going?"

"I can't wait to get back on the streets. Desk duty isn't exactly fun."

The doctor nodded. "I bet. But you should really be careful these next few weeks. Just because the stitches are out doesn't mean you're completely healed. The wound was quite deep, you know? Better safe than sorry."

"Yeah, I'll be careful," Andy said, but it was more of an automated response she had used a few dozen times already.

"Alright then. We're done here. I wish you all the best Officer McNally. Be careful out there." The doctor extended a hand. Andy took it as soon as she had finished putting on her jacket. "Thank you," she said, and walked out of the office.

* * *

><p>Sam knew that his chances of getting through to her were meager at best, but he had to try one last time. He didn't want to confront her at work, knowing that she wouldn't be very likely to just break down and tell him how she felt in the middle of the station. He hadn't seen her at the Penny in a while, and even if he had, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to talk to her when she had been drinking. Those kind of conversations never ended well. Instead, he talked to her dad again to find out when she had her checkup at the hospital and hoped she would accept a ride home.<p>

Not that he had a plan or anything. He had no clue what to say to her or whether there was anything at all he could say that would make things better. But he needed to show her that she wasn't alone, and that she could open up to someone when she was ready. Whenever that was.

He checked his watch as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. There had been a traffic jam on his way and he was a little late. He hoped he hadn't missed her.

Andy pulled the door closed and made her way to the elevators. She passed by the nurses' room, then the bathrooms. The elevators lay on the other end of the floor, so she had to cross the waiting area to get there. She looked absentmindedly at the people occupying the chairs and sofas, imagining how it must have looked like three weeks ago, when the room had been filled with uniforms. She almost couldn't believe that so many people had showed up just because of her. She was still imagining all the familiar faces, when her eyes fell onto a face that was indeed familiar.

Sam locked his truck with more force than was necessary. He had been looking for a parking space for the past five minutes at least. Everything had been occupied and he had had to wait until an old lady had finally decided to leave, taking her time in the process. He checked his watch again. He wasn't sure how long it took to remove stitches, nor how long Andy would have had to wait before she got called in. He guessed that it was a close call in any case and sped up his pace.

Andy froze, her mouth went dry. That face, she would have recognized it anywhere. But it was impossible. They were dead. They had assured her that they were both dead. The file had said they were dead. How could the man sitting less than five feet away from her be still alive?

The man, who had been reading a magazine until now, suddenly looked up. As he caught sight of Andy, he seemed surprised, but not shocked. He regarded her for a few moments, then he smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue or any of its characters.**

**Author's note: As always, thank you so much for your reviews, they are really motivating. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

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><p>Alan realized that they had been made about half an hour before the explosion – or cleansing, as he liked to call it – was scheduled to take place. He had never trusted the new guy. His whole story had been just a little too perfect, a little too cliché. It almost sounded like a copy of American History X – including the hero father killed by foreigners. Nobody else in the brotherhood seemed to get suspicious when the guy started asking more and more questions the closer they came to the big finale. But Alan did notice. Finally, about an hour after Alan and his partner Benny had had their little run-in with those two cops at their temporary base in the school, Alan called the brotherhood to check in for the very last time. All he wanted was to say good bye to his idol, the man who had raised him and showed him the righteous path. The path that had led him to become the key figure in this event, which was to be the beginning of an entirely new era. He was proud to play his part, even if he would have to pay for the honor with his life.<p>

It didn't matter. Alan had always known that he was meant to do something great and this was it. His name wouldn't be forgotten, his brothers would make sure of that.

The phone rang a few times before it was picked up. "We have a problem," the voice on the other end said instead of a greeting. It wasn't the man Alan had been hoping to speak to. He was disappointed.

"What happened?" he asked, not hiding his irritation.

"Dan - the new guy, remember? We can't reach him. He was supposed to take care of this Korean shop-owner we've been having troubles with, but he's disappeared."

Alan shook his head. That was exactly what he had been afraid of. "When?" he asked.

"About an hour ago."

"Dan's a rat," Alan stated simply.

"You don't know that."

"I can feel it in my gut. He's probably an undercover cop or something."

"Why didn't you say anything before now?" Now it was the other man who sounded irritated.

"I did, actually," Alan said. "But I was a little busy, if you'll recall. I didn't have time to babysit him. Look, this changes everything. Dan didn't know all the details, but if he's gone, that means he's found what he was looking for. Chances are, he's already passed on the information. I gotta figure out what to do now."

"Call me as soon as you have a new plan." The man hung up.

Alan looked over to his partner, who was just coming back from the restrooms. They were staying in a cheap diner a few blocks away from their target until it was time to move. Benny sat down across from Alan and took a sip from his coffee. When he looked into Alan's face, he knew something was wrong.

"Bad news?" he asked.

Alan explained the situation, his voice calm. Benny listened wide-eyed. "You've gotta be kidding me," he said. He hit the table with his fist, almost knocking over his coffee. He was about ten years younger than his partner and his age showed especially in times of a crises. Alan looked at him disapprovingly.

"What now?" Benny asked.

Alan took a deep breath and stared out the window for a few moments. "If I'm right and Dan's told them about the plan, that means they'll evacuate the church," Alan said.

"So we just choose another target. What about this community center on King Street – the place is crawling with those fucking –"

"No," Alan interrupted. "It was hard enough to get around before they knew our faces. Today the entire city will be overrun by cops holding pictures of us. Plus, we don't know the community center like we know the church. There might not even be anyone there today."

"So what do we do?" Benny asked.

"We make sure they stop looking for us. Once they do, we'll have all the time in the world to come up with a new plan and carry it out undisturbed."

Benny frowned. "And how do we get them to stop looking for us?" he asked.

"We give them what they want," Alan said. "Our dead bodies."

* * *

><p>Alan's plan had worked just fine. Killing the two bums had been a little more difficult than they had anticipated - years of living on the street had turned the homeless men into fierce fighters. But it had only extended their life for a few moments. Alan and Benny placed their bodies close to the center of the explosion, where they would be torn into pieces and burn until identification would be as good as impossible. Alan and Benny's DNAs weren't on file, so the cops would be hard pressed to proof it wasn't really them.<p>

They didn't stay to watch the explosion, but instead went into hiding and took their time to come up with a new plan. They viewed the incident as second chance to mark the beginning of their new era with an even bigger event. But to set this up, they needed new explosives, and lots of them. Fabricating a bomb with the kind of destructiveness they had in mind wasn't easy, either. A few weeks after the church had blown up, they were still working on the bomb, when Benny came back from an errand with a bloody nose, his right arm pressed to his chest. Alan looked up from the tools that were spread out in front of him.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

Benny threw the door closed with his good hand. "Fucking Arab tried to shortchange me at the store," he offered as an explanation. And after a few seconds, he added: "I think I broke my hand."

"Did anybody see you with him?" Alan asked.

"Nobody. We're good. But I can't move my hand. Fucking hurts, man."

They were _this_ close to finishing up and finally going through with what they had been planning for months. And now this.

* * *

><p>"Officer McNally," Alan said and stood up.<p>

Andy automatically took a step back, never taking her eyes off the man in front of her. The whole situation seemed surreal, like a really bad nightmare. Like one of the countless really bad nightmares she had had during the past few weeks. But this time she knew it was real.

"It's good to see you," Alan went on when Andy didn't respond. "I'm glad you're doing ok."

Andy heard the words, but couldn't make sense of them. Was he seriously telling her that he was _glad_ she was ok, after he'd stabbed her and left her to die? Andy's head was spinning. Her hands had become sweaty and her entire body was shaking. A million feelings washed over her at once, from pure, primal rage to disgust. But the one thought that was most prominent on her mind, was what on earth she was supposed to do now. She didn't have her gun with her. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to safely use it anyway, but without it, she had absolutely no chance of subduing the man who had at least 40 pounds on her.

"I'm sorry," Alan went on. "You must be thinking I'm here because of you. But that's not the case, I can promise you." He took a step towards Andy, his hands held up in an appeasing manner. "There's no need to be afraid. Maybe you and I could go somewhere else, and talk about –"

Andy had heard enough. The guy obviously didn't want to spook her, hoping that she was traumatized or stupid enough to go somewhere else with him where nobody would be able to see them. She knew the guy might have a gun, but she doubted he would draw it and shoot her in the back in front of all these people, when a big scene seemed to be exactly what he was trying to avoid. Her mind was still racing when she finally managed to get her legs to stop shaking and turn around. She sprinted in the opposite direction, away from the man.

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><p>Sam entered the hospital and turned left into the first hallway. He didn't need to read the signs to know where he was going. When he saw the elevator door open, he ran towards them. Inside, a young cop Sam didn't recognize stood absentmindedly staring at the floor in front of him. When he heard Sam's loud footsteps echoing through the hallway, he looked up and, a moment later pressed the button to hold open the doors. It was too late. The doors closed as Sam was still running towards them. The young cop in the elevator shrugged helplessly. "Sorry Sir," he said, then he was gone.<p>

Sam stopped and swore under his breath. If he hadn't already missed her, Andy would be on the fourth floor. He thought for a second, then decided to take the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Andy turned right. She didn't have a plan, but she knew she had to get away. If she could just get some distance between herself and her pursuer, maybe she could find a security guard and –

Right in front of her, a door opened. A man came out and suddenly blocked her way. She crushed right into him.

"Woa, easy there, Miss," the man said, his left hand on her arm, his right in a cast.

Andy wanted to yell at him to let her go, when she recognized his face and her heart missed a beat. The man seemed equally surprised when he looked into her eyes, but his shock only lasted for a second, then his grip on her arm tightened.

Andy struggled to break free, but the man's grip was like iron. She was about to scream when he punched her with his cast, right on the spot where the doctor had just removed the stitches. For a moment, everything turned red in front of her eyes. All air left her lungs. She felt sick. She would have collapsed, but the man held on to her, keeping her from sinking to the ground. In the meantime, Alan caught up to them.

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><p>Damien Marshall was only 19 years old when he came out of the police academy. That had been three months ago. He was, by all means and standards, a rookie. Every day on the force was like an adventure for him, and every evening he came home without having made a major mistake was cause to celebrate with his equally young colleagues. He was part of 21st division and already viewed the station as his second home, its members as his family.<p>

That day, he had been cruising with his training officer, when they had been called to the site of an accident. A young woman on a bike had been hit by a car, the driver had taken off without so much as checking whether she was still alive. Damien was sent to the hospital to stay with her until she woke up and could give her statement.

He felt bad for the officer who had tried to catch the elevator – he had seemed like he was in a big hurry. Damien had recognized him right away, though he couldn't remember the man's name. He had seen pictures of him in the academy, when his class had been taught about various undercover operations, one of them surrounding a man named Anton Hill. Damien mentally kicked himself for not reacting faster – he would have loved to ride the elevator with that guy. Maybe even get some background infos about the operation. Oh well, he thought finally, nothing he could do about it now.

A woman's voice sounded through the speaker. "Four," it said. The doors opened and Damien stepped out of the elevator. He checked the signs at the opposite wall, looking for the nurses' station. Before he found what he was looking for, something caught his attention. He looked to his right and saw a young woman and two men standing about thirty feet away from him. The woman seemed in pain, but there was no nurse or doctor in sight. Damien slowly walked towards them to see if he might be able to help, when the young woman started to struggle against the man's grip. Damien sped up his pace, putting his right hand onto his gun. "Hey," he yelled. "Hey you! Get away from her!"

Andy saw the young cop at the same time as Alan. She wanted to shout something at him, warn him, tell him who he was dealing with, but she still wasn't able to breathe properly, much less shout. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alan's hand move inside his jacket. He pulled out a small .22, pointed it at the cop, and fired.

Damien had no time to react. He felt the impact in his west and the floor being pulled away from under him, then the painful moment when his back made contact with the hard stone tiles. The air was knocked out of him. He lay on his back, unable to move, and stared at the white ceiling above him.

Sam had just reached the third floor when he heard a loud bang. He didn't need his ten years of experience to know it was a gun shot. It had clearly come from above him. _Andy_ – her name was the first thing on his mind. He instinctively reached for his gun, usually attached to his right hip. But now his hand only found air where his Glock should have been. He swore silently, then carefully moved up the stairs.

Only seconds later, the first panicking people appeared on the top of the stairs, running towards him. Sam stopped a man in blue scrubs. "What's going on up there?" he asked.

The man shook his head violently. "It's crazy," he said. "Two men and a woman … I don't know who it was … they shot a cop!" The man took off.

Sam felt a stab in his heart. A woman … he couldn't be sure it was her, but really - who was he kidding? When there was trouble, Andy wouldn't be very far.

Pressed against the wall, he took the last steps until he reached the fourth floor. He carefully looked around the corner. On the floor, only a few feet away from him lay the shot cop the man in scrubs had told him about. Sam recognized him as the cop fromt he elevator. The man was alive and conscious. When he noticed Sam sneaking up behind him, he turned his head slightly to look at him. He was about to say something, when Sam put his finger to his lips, telling him to stay quiet.

Sam looked up and saw Andy and the two men standing on the other side of the hallway. Right now, none of them were looking his way. He had to act fast. He took a step forward, hooked his hands under the young cop's arms and pulled him towards a small white door right across the stairs. It read "X-ray room". Sam opened the door and dragged the cop inside. When he looked up, he found that he wasn't alone. A male nurse was hiding behind a cabinet of some sort. When the nurse realized that Sam apparently wasn't there to kill him, he relaxed a little and stepped forward.

"He's been shot, but I think the bullet's stuck in his west," Sam explained. "Can you take care of him for me?"

The male nurse nodded.

"Okay … Marshall," Sam said, reading the man's name tag. "You got a first name?" Sam asked.

"Damien."

"Okay great, Damien, listen: You're gonna be fine, you took a bullet in the west and it probably hurts like hell, but you're gonna be fine, just stay still and try to relax. I'm Officer Swarek from 15th, and I'm really sorry buddy, but I gotta borrow your gun for a second. Don't worry, I'll give it back to you as soon as I can."

Sam took Damien's gun out of his holster, checked the magazine and stood up. "Stay quiet and lock the door," he said to the male nurse. "Don't open it unless you recognize the voice on the other side." And with that, Sam was out of the door.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Rookie Blue.

**Author's Note:** Hey guys, thanks for all the new reviews and the positive feedback, I'm very glad some of you are still enjoying the story. There was a question which I'd quickly like to address: You asked why Sam didn't take Damien's vest (yes, spelled with a v, I got it now). I agree that it would have been a smart move, but I think Sam just wouldn't have had the time. After all, there are some pretty dangerous people with Andy, they already shot a cop, everyone's panicking and more people are in danger of getting hurt. To me it just seemed like Sam wouldn't have wasted valuable time undressing Damien und putting on his vest, even if it would have meant being better protected himself.

Also, I'd like to apologize for driving some of you (quote:) "nuts" with my terrible spelling mistakes. My native language is German and I learned English while waiting tables in an Irish pub in my home town – I guess it shows sometimes. I will look for a beta reader to avoid this problem in the future, but for now, I hope you'll bear with me anyway …

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><p>His uninjured arm around Andy's neck, Benny watched as the people previously seated in the waiting area ran past him. Panic had ensued the moment Alan had pulled the trigger of his gun. "What now?" Benny asked.<p>

"Shut up, I need to think," Alan said. They were facing away from the stairs to avoid getting hit in the back by some patient trying to be a hero. Alan looked around the room, irritated. They really didn't need this kind of crap. Not now that they were so close to finishing their task. He looked down the hallway in front of him. It ended in a T, another hallway running right across it. He had no idea where that hall lead or whether there was another escape route, but he knew going down the main stairs wouldn't be a smart move. The cops were most likely to take the most direct route up once they arrived at the scene. On the wall behind the seating area where Andy had found him just moments before, Alan saw a fire extinguisher and next to it a map. "Give me the girl," he said to Benny and grabbed Andy by the shoulder. "You go get the cop's radio so we know what the rest of them are up to. I'll go look for another way out of here."

Benny let go of Andy and turned around to do what Alan had told him to. The last few people were just making their way towards the stairs. Benny watched them for a moment, then he noticed the empty spot on the floor where the cop had gone down. "He's gone," Benny said.

Alan, already a few steps away, turned around. "He can't be far," he said. "Hurry up before he makes it down the stairs."

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><p>Sam silently closed the door to the X-ray room behind him. He couldn't see Andy from where he was standing, a big wooden cabinet blocking his view. He didn't mind, since that also meant that he couldn't be seen by anyone standing in the waiting area. He moved closer to it as a few patients ran past him and down the stairs. As soon as they were out of sight, the entire floor became quiet. Sam guessed by now everyone had either fled or barricaded themselves in a room, leaving him, Andy and the two armed men out in the open.<p>

"He's gone," he heard a man's voice say. Shortly after, a second voice, telling the first to hurry up. He heard footsteps coming towards him. He was pretty sure they were talking about Damien and probably wanted to get to his gun or radio. He held his breath and waited until the steps had reached him. His gun raised, he stepped out from behind his cover just as the man passed him. He lifted his gun, took another step towards the man, then brought his weapon down hard on the back of his head. The man went down without making a sound.

Sam looked left to make sure nobody had seen him, but found the entrance to the waiting area empty. He put the gun in the back of his pants and quickly searched the unconscious man for weapons. When he came up empty, he grabbed him by the hands and pulled him towards the X-ray room.

Both Damien and the male nurse jumped a little when Sam opened the door again to drag the man inside.

"Jesus, you scared the crap out of us," the male nurse said.

"This is one of them," Damien said once he had gotten a look at the man's face. By now he was sitting upright on the X-ray table, his vest open.

"Yes," Sam confirmed. "Can you take care of him for me?"

Damien nodded. "No problem." He reached for the handcuffs, stored in a little black pocket on the right side of his belt.

"Thanks," Sam said and got up to leave. "You might want to lock the door behind me," he offered, but didn't wait for a response before he left.

The hallway was quiet, but in the far distance Sam thought he could hear sirens. Backup had arrived, but that didn't mean that Andy was safe yet. He threw a quick glance down the stairs, then made his way down the hallway toward the waiting area.

* * *

><p>Andy could barely breathe. Alan's left arm was around her neck, holding her in a headlock that allowed no movement. Alan was looking at the map, trying to figure out their next move. The gun in his right hand pointed at Andy's head at all times.<p>

Andy's mind was racing. Her eyes went left and right, looking for something – anything she could use to get out of this situation. She saw the fire extinguisher only two feet away but had no way of reaching it. All she wanted was to get away from this guy that had already proved he had no scruple and would probably kill her for real this time as soon as he didn't need her anymore.

Andy had been scared before, but now that Alan had her in this headlock, she really started to panic. She struggled against Alan's grip, trying to at least create some room for her neck, but the more she tried the tighter it got. By now, she was desperate for air. All logical thought was wiped from her mind, leaving only her survival instincts, which told her to struggle even more in an attempt to get away. But it was no use. Andy got physically weaker when she realized that she didn't stand a chance against Alan. She was ready to give up and let matters run their course, when she heard Sam's voice behind her.

"Police," Sam said. He had entered the waiting area without anybody noticing. Now he was standing about twenty feet behind Alan and Andy. "Drop your weapon!"

Andy could feel Alan hesitate for a moment before he turned around, forcing her to make the move with him. He had been holding her on his left side, but now he pushed her in front of him, using her body as a shield. She felt the cold muzzle of his pistol pressed hard against her temple. Her hands clung to Alan's arm, still trying to loosen his grip. Her face was flushed, her legs unsteady.

That was the image that presented itself to Sam. He swallowed hard at the sight but otherwise did a good job of hiding his emotions. Anyone who didn't know him very well would have thought him completely calm, professional, focused. But Andy did know him, better than most people and better than he would have cared to admit. When their eyes met, Andy could see right past his calm exterior. She could see the storm of emotions playing behind his eyes, see his mind rattling away, trying to figure a way out of the situation, trying to get a step ahead of Alan, trying to get them both out of there alive.

What was he even doing at the hospital, she wondered. Had the police already arrived and had he come with them? She doubted they could have been that quick. Plus, he wasn't wearing his uniform. Then she remembered that it was his day off today. He was always off Thursdays so he could sleep in after their weekly poker nights, which usually took place on Wednesdays.

"You again," she heard Alan say.

"Drop your weapon," Sam repeated. "Let her go and get on the ground!" He inched a little closer.

"That's far enough, pal," Alan said, tightening his grip around Andy's neck, which made her wince involuntarily.

Andy watched Sam's knuckles turn white. Then she realized, there was only one explanation for why he was here. He was here for her. The thought echoed in her head. He was here for her. Like he always was, wasn't he? Suddenly, all the things she had felt in that school basement came back to her. She remembered how incredibly safe she had felt in his arms, remembered how hard he had fought to save her, how desperate he had been when he had failed. And she remembered thinking that she wanted a second chance. A second chance with Sam. She had made it out of that basement alive, had gotten that second chance, and what had she done with it? Nothing. Even worse, she had pushed Sam away, had pushed everyone away and just curled up in her bed and shut the world out.

"Look man, you're not getting out of here, you gotta know that," Sam tried again. "Even if you make it past me, there's no way you're getting out alive. By now they have the building surrounded and an emergency response team is on its way. If you let her go, I can at least make sure the snipers don't blow your head off."

Alan didn't say anything, instead stretched his neck a little, trying to see past Sam.

"If you're looking for your buddy, he's not coming back," Sam said, guessing Alan's thought. "You're on your own."

Andy watched Sam wait expectantly. Of course she couldn't know it for sure, but something told her that Alan wouldn't just put down his weapon and let himself get arrested. If she didn't want to be a victim again, she had to do something. She looked into Sam's eyes, hoping to find something there that would tell her what to do, but Sam's eyes were focused on Alan.

Then, the fire alarm went off. The noise was deafening and caught everyone off guard. Everyone except for Andy, whose cop instincts finally kicked in again. She used the moment of confusion and with her entire weight pushed herself back against Alan, using her right hand to push the gun away from her temple at the same time.

A shot rang out and went straight into the ceiling. Alan fell backwards against the wall behind him, his headlock on Andy loosening just a little. Andy knew it wasn't over yet. She used all the energy she could muster and rammed her elbow into Alan's solar plexus. Alan dropped the gun and finally let go of Andy's neck. Andy spun around and brought her right knee up, sending Alan against the wall once more. Unable to control his fall, Alan's head banged against the side of the fire extinguisher, causing a metallic thunk before he slipped to the ground, unconscious.

Andy didn't stop to take a breath, but bent down to pick up Alan's .22. She ignored the pain in her right side when she got back up, took a step back and pointed the gun at Alan's head.

Sam was by her side before she had fully realized what just happened. His own gun still in hand and pointed at Alan, he carefully approached her from the side.

"Andy," he said, his voice strained.

Andy didn't look up. She was still trying to catch her breath.

"Andy," Sam repeated. He reached out to touch her arm. "It's ok," he said. "It's ok. It's over. You can put the gun down now."

Andy heard his voice, understood the words, but couldn't comply with them. She stared at the motionless man on the floor in front of her, unable to form a coherent thought. The fire alarm sounded in regular intervals, filling the air with a noise so loud it made it hard to think at all. She felt Sam come closer, his hand sliding down her arm towards the gun she was holding. Her own knuckles had turned white by now. Sam covered her hands with his own.

Finally, Andy started to let go. Sam carefully took the gun off her, put it on the ground and gave it a slight push so it drifted a few feet away. His eyes never left Andy's face. He put his hand on her shoulder. "It's ok," he said again. "It's over."

Andy felt completely drained, like she hadn't slept in weeks. Her knees were trembling, her hands shaking. She felt tears forming in her eyes and fought hard to keep them from spilling over, but she didn't have the energy to hold it together anymore. It was as if someone had opened a gate inside her and now all the emotions she hadn't allowed herself to feel these past few weeks were just flowing out, taking hold of her entire body. She hated being vulnerable, hated being weak in front of other people. She didn't want to be so weak in front of Sam either, but something in his touch, in his voice and the way he looked at her told her that he wouldn't mind. She turned towards him and allowed him to take her into his arms.

Sam held Andy while she finally let everything out. Her pain was hard for him to bear, but somehow he knew that this was the only way she would get better. He allowed himself a relieved sigh, then placed a long kiss on Andy's hair. "It's alright," he said. "It's gonna be alright."

He kept an eye on the still unconscious man on the floor while Andy slowly cried her pain away. They stood in a tight embrace until the men from the emergency response unit finally arrived at the scene.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note #2:<strong> So, that's it, folks, the end of the main story. I hope you're not disappointed. I know how I would want the story to go on, but I'm not sure whether I should really keep going. I'm thinking I could either just stop right here, write a nice long epilogue or basically start a "new chapter" in this story, which focuses on Sam and Andy finally getting together. It's up to you guys. Let me know what you think and that's what I'll do.


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